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FOETT YEAES AT EAEITAH". 



Eight Memorial Sermons, 



NOTES FOR A HISTORY OF THE REFORMED DUTCH CHURCHES 
IN SOMERSET COUNTY, N. J. 



BY 



ABEAHAM jJsSSLEE, D.D., 

PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OP RARITAN. 



New- York : 

A. LLOYD, No. 729 BROADWAY. 
1873. . 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873. 
By AARON LLOYD, 
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. O. 



PREFACE. 



The first four sermons were originally published in 1852. 
They are republished now, because they have been long out of 
print. The whole includes a record of the views, sentiments, and 
labors of forty years in one congregation, and are intended as a 
legacy to friends. 

The appendix is added to dispose of matter collected through 
all these years, and which it is thought ought not to be lost. We 
are indebted to the Historical Discourses of Rev. Dr. Steel and 
E. T. Corwin for many things relating to New-Brunswick and 
Millstone. These discourses are almost invaluable. Other friends 
have aided as they could, and have our thanks. The whole vol- 
ume is a contribution of the heart to my own people, and gene- 
rally to the churches in Somerset County. 

ABRAHAM MESSLER. 

SOMERVILLE, N. J., NOVEMBER, 1872. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

PREFACE iii 

A PASTOR'S MEMORIAL. 



Sermon I. The Pastor longing for the Salvation of his 

People 5 

II. The Revivals in the Church of Raritan 20 

III. Experience and Death instructing Men 40 

IV. An Improvement of the Past.... 58 

V. Remembrance of former Days 75 

VI. The Rehearsal of the Past for Instruction 91 

VII. Former Things to be remembered and improved. . . 106 

VIII. God with us Forty Years 125 

THE FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF DR. MESSLER'S PASTO- 
RATE. — The Preparations — Clergymen present— Rev. Dr. G. Ludlow's 
Prayer — Dr. John A. Todd's Address — Addresses by A. M. Quick and 
Rev. A. F. Tood — Prayer by Rev. N. Conkling — The Reception — 
Presentation Note 141 

HISTORICAL NOTES. 



The Church of Raritan. — Early Settlement — First Settlers — In New- 
Brunswick, Raritan — Three and Six-Mile Run — Churches organized 
and visited by G. Bertholff— T. J. Frelinghuysen called to Raritan — 
Three and Six-Mile Run, North-Branch — Members of the Church of 
the River and Lawrence Brook — The Character of Frelinghuysen and 
his Labors — The Great Revival — Opposition to his Evangelical Doc- 
trines and Preaching — The Advocate dissected — Notices of Mr. Freling- 
huysen's Family — Date of Death not known — His son John succeeds 
him— He is succeeded by J. R. Hardenbergh — Dinah Van Bergh — 
Hardenbergh's Character and Ministry — Raritan Church burned by the 
Queen's Rangers — Hardenbergh resigns and becomes President of 
Queen's College — T. F. Romeyn called — John Duryea succeeds him — 
The Church rebuilt — J. S. Vredenburgh's successful Ministry — R. D. 
Van Kleek's Pastorate — Dr. Messier succeeds him — Ministers from the 
Raritan Church 159 



vi 



CONTENTS. 



The Church of New Brunswick. — Early Settlement by John Inians 
& Co. — The Church at Three-Mile Run — Early Subscription List — a 
Church erected in New-Brunswick — Differences harmonized by services 
in the town and at Three and Six-Mile Run — Nourished by Ministers 
from Long- Island — List of the Families in the River Church — T. J. 
Frelinghuysen called — " Old Conferentie Families" — Emigrants from 
Albany — V. Antonides organizes the Conferentie — Whitefield preaches 
— J. Leydt settled by the Coetus — His Sons — J. R. Hardenbergh Pastor — 
Succeeded by Ira Condi t — John Schureman's Pastorate — Jesse Fonda's 
Ministry — Dr. John Ludlow's Labors — Succeeded in turn by Isaac Ferris, 
J. B. Hardenbergh, and 'Jacob J. Jane way — S. B. How's long and faith- 
ful Pastorate— R, H. Steele called 204 

Six-Mile Run Church. — Church organized and the first House 
erected — Heads of Families — New Church erected — Separates fiom 
New-Brunswick and unites with Millstone in calling J. M. Van 
Harlingen — His Character sketched — Recollections of him by Dr. 
Wyck off— James S. Cannon called in 1797 — Sketch of his Life, Labors, 
and Character — James Romeyn called — His Character and Ministry — 
Succeeded by J. C. Sears 223 

Church of Readington. — Record of Baptisms and Consistorial Meet- 
ings — Conferentie Tendencies and Movements — Helpers appointed — 
New Church erected and this replaced by another — New Consistory 
elected — Action of the Coetus — Conferentie Statement of the Differences 
between the Parties — Dom. Fryenmoet's Labors — Genit Leydecker 
preaches — S. Van Arsdale called — Peter Studdiford — John Van Lie w's 
long Pastorate— J. Gr.Van Slyke called 239 

Church of Harlingen. — Organized by the Conferentie — Henricus 
Coens — V. Antonideus' Labors — John Arondeus' Course — Action of the 
Coetus respecting him — A Coetus Church organized, and a House 
erected at Sourland — List of Members — Joh. M. Van Harlingen's 
Pastorate — William Richmond Smith's Ministry — Name of Church 
changed to Harlingen — Henry Polhemus — Blawenburgh secures a 
House of Worship — Peter Labagh called — His Ministry— Estimates of 



his Character by Drs. Ludlow and Bethune — John Gardener called. . . . 253 

Church of Neshanic. — Organization — Baptismal Register — J. R. 
Hardenbergh the first Pastor — Solomon Froeligh succeeds him — 
Gabriel Ludlow called and still Pastor 268 



Church of Millstone. — Organized as Presbyterian — This replaced by 
a Dutch Church — Seventy Families petition for Preaching Services — 
House of Worship built — Parsonage secured — F. C. Foering's Minis- 
try — Somerset County Court-house burned — S. Froeligh called — His 
call acted upon directly by the Synod — His removal to Schraelenbergh 
— Secession and Death — J. L. Zabriskie's Ministry and Character — He 
is succeeded by John De Witt and E. T. Corwin 273 



CONTENTS. 



vii 



The Church of Bedminster. — An Outpost of Raritan — Organized — 
House of Worship built — History involved with that of Raritan and 
Readington — John Schureman called — Charles Hardenburgh called — 
I. M. Fisher called — The Ministry of George Schenck — William Brush 
called— Charles H. Pool, Pastor 282 

The Church of Lebanon. — Of German origin — Michael Schlatter's 
Missionary Labors in Lebanon, Amwell, and German Valley — John 
Conrad Wirtz, the first Pastor — Supplied by William Kails, C. M. 
Stapel, J. W. G. Nevelling, and F. Dalliker — Casper Wack's Pastorate 
— Baptismal Register — German supplies failing — Unites with White 

, House and calls Jacob J. Schultz — Charles P. Wack, Pastor — Robert 
Van Amburgh, John Steele, and Van Benschoten. successively, 
Pastors 290 

White House. — Church organized — Admissions to — Calls C. T. Dema- 
rest, and erects a Church Edifice — Calls J. J. Schultz and P. S. Wil- 
liamson, James Otterson, George Tallmadge, L. L. Comfort, Aaron 
Lloyd, Smith Sturgis, and William Bailey 297 

THE MORE RECENT CHURCHES. 
North-Branch Church. — Grew out of the great Revival — George H. 
Fisher, A. D. Wilson, James K. Campbell and P. M. Doolittle, succes- 
sively, Pastors— Church Edifices erected 1826 and 1854 302 

Blawenburg Church. — Organized out of Harlingen, and erects a House 
of Worship — Henry Hermann, J. R. Talmage, T. B. Romeyn, C. W. 
Fritts, and W. B. Voorhees, Pastors — A flourishing Church 303 

Middlebush Church. — Organized out of New-Brunswick — J.J. Schultz 
the first Pastor — Succeeded by J. A. Van Doren, George W. Swayne, 
and S. L. Mershon 305 

Clover Hill Church. — Organized by S. A. Bumstead — Edifice dedicated 
— Garrett C. Schenck, William Demarest, Pastors — Becomes Presby- 
terian — Returns to the Classis of Philadelphia — Calls W. B. Voorhees. 
and again B. Oliver 306 

Raritan, Second Church. — Organized and built a House of Worship 
—Call Charles Whitehead— He is followed by T. W. Chambers, E. R. 
Craven, and J. F. Mesick 306 

Stanton, or Mt. Pleasant Church.— Organized out of Readington— 
Built a House and called J. R. Van Arsdale. — He was succeeded by 
H. Doolittle, and he by Edward Cornell 307 

New-Brunswick, Second Church. — Formed out of the First — Present 
House of Worship erected — Succession of Pastors 308 

Griggstown Church. — Organized in 1842 — Builds a House — Calls J. S. 
Lord— Then J. A. Todd, E. P. Livingston, and S. Searle 309 



Vlll 



CONTENTS. 



Boundbrook Church — Organized— Builds and dedicates a House, and 
calls, successively, G. J. Van Neste, W. Demarest, H. V. Voorliees, B. 
F. Roniaine, and J. C. Dutcher 310 

Raritan, Third Church.— A Chapel and Preaching Station prepares 
for the organization — Church erected and dedicated — P. Stryker called, 
and succeeded by J. A. H. Cornell and J. Le Fever 310 

Peapack Church.— Organized 1848— Edifice built and dedicated— Wil- 
liam Anderson called — H. P. Thompson, Pastor 311 

Branchville Church. — Organized, builds and dedicates a House, 
1850— Calls H. Dater, then William Pitcher 312 

Easton Church. — Organized — Calls J. H. M. Knox — New Edifice dedi- 
cated — This sold and another built — C. H. Edgar called 312 

East Millstone Church. — Organized with 18 members — Build a 
House— Call G. Vander Wall, then David Cole, M. L. Berger, W. H. 
Phraner, and A. McWilliam 314 

Rocky Hill Church. — Organized — House dedicated — Martin S. Schenck 
called, then Oscar Gesner and H. C. Berg 315 

Pottersville Church.— Organization — House dedicated — T. W. Jones 
called— Succeeded by F. B. Carroll 316 

High Bridge [ Church. — Organization — House erected — Pastors, J. 
Wyckoff, R. Van Amburgh, J. Fehrman 317 

Clinton Station Church. — Organized out of Lebanon and supplied 
by J. A. Van Doren 317 

German Churches 317 

Plainfield Church 318 

Charter op the Five Churches 318 

General Index 324 



A PASTOR'S MEMORIAL. 



THE FIKST SEEMOJST. 

Preached Oct. 29th, 1837. 

THE PASTOR LONGING FOR THE SALVATION OF HIS PEOPLE. 

" Oh ! tliat my Lead were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I 
might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people." — 
Jeremiah 9:1. 

The immediate occasion prompting this pathetic language 
on the part of the prophet was the anticipated destruction 
of the city of Jerusalem, as a consequence of the sins and 
apostasy of its inhabitants. He could not see that sacred 
city where was the sanctuary of Jehovah, and where " the 
tribes went up to worship, even the tribes, in the temple of 
the Lord," given to desolation, and all his kindred involved in 
its ruin, without tears. The " slain of the daughter of his 
people" awaked his tenderest sympathies and made him feel, 
as if he ought to weep, even more than nature allowed him to 
do. When he saw the dreadful scene, it appeared to him that 
he was not adequately affected by it — his conceptions were not 
as vivid and his heart as sensible as the magnitude of the evil 
rendered proper ; and he prayed for " a fountain of tears," that 
they might flow continually; for his "head to dissolve in 
waters," that he might "weep day and night." 

"When he considered the state of the people, he did not find, 
any thing in their moral condition to afford him any hope ; . 
nor did their obstinacy seem to forebode any thing but a cer- 
tainty , that God would execute his threatened vengeance. 
He had not even pleasure in associating with them, on account 
1 



6 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



of their marked impiety, and the filthy conversation of the 
wicked which pained his ears ; and he longed for the solitude 
of the desert, where he might be alone and unvexed. " O 
that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring 
men, that I might leave my people and go from them." On 
every side their provocations seemed rapidly to increase ; and 
from every place the evidence of their apostasy appeared to 
rise up, convincing him that it w r as impossible that the 
threatened vengeance should fail. Nineveh had repented and 
its guilty inhabitants been spared; even Sodom would not 
have been consumed if there had been found five righteous 
men in it ; but for Jerusalem, in its abounding corruptions, 
and hardened impenitency, there was no hope : from the peo- 
ple even to the priest, all did wickedly — all perverted judg- 
ment, and hastened on the direful calamity that w T as to sweep 
them almost entirely from the face of the earth, and make 
their name a by-word among the nations. "Was not the 
prophet justified in manifesting such deep emotion? Was 
the fervor of his feelings"" any thing but what the scene, as he 
saw it before him, was calculated to produce? 

The text admits of a natural and profitable application to 
our circumstances. There is no sin more heinous in the sight 
of heaven than the ingratitude and impenitence of a Christian 
people. There is none which sooner and more certainly calls 
down the vengeance of God. Have we any of it ? And shall 
we then hope to escape ? Ah ! indeed, when we consider what 
our privileges have been and how we have improved them ; 
what hardness, impeniteney, and worldliness w T e have exhibit- 
ed in our conduct; how many warnings of his providence 
have been in vain, and how many solicitations of his love have 
failed ; what years of provocation and rebellion we have spent ; 
we may well tremble; and our pastors and Christian friends 
may well seek to move us, and express their sympathy for us 
in the affecting language of Jeremiah, " Oh ! that my head 
were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might 
weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my 
people." 

Here is a striking and beautiful sentiment. Let us en- 
deavor to improve it by making it the theme of our present 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



7 



meditations. It may express the solicitude with which, after 
so many years of vain effort, we regard you to-day. If we 
consider it carefully we shall find it to yield us most important 
and varied instruction. We remark — 

I. It shows us the feelings of a Christian pastor, when his 
warnings are unheeded, his expostulations fail, and he.sees his 
people stupid, impenitent, and hardened, while wickedness in- 
creases and the word is as if it were sown among thorns or on 
a rock. 

Without feigning any thing or pretending what is not ex- 
perienced, I appropriate it to myself, as I stand up before you 
this morning, on the anniversary of my settlement . as your 
pastor, and, after five years of earnest and prayerful expostu- 
lation, find so many of you yet in your impenitence. If weep- 
ing would effect any thing, I could weep over you ; if tears 
had in them power to move, my tears could flow in copious 
showers. Like the prophet, I could wish to weep even more 
than nature allows ; exhausting the fountain of sympathy in 
my heart, in order to reach yours, and subdue their enmity to 
love. There is in the condition of impenitent men, under 
the means of grace, every thing to induce such feelings in the 
heart of a faithful pastor. Let us consider this for a moment ; 
it may be you have not reflected upon it, and are not prepared 
to accredit -what we avow ; and therefore the appeals which we 
make to you may not reach that place in your heart in which 
we would fain lodge them. They are more intimately con- 
nected with your eternal state than you imagine. 

The ministry of reconciliation is the only instrument which 
grace in its deep compassion has determined to employ for 
the salvation of sinners — and it is a sufficient instrumentality. 
A faithful ministry makes constant appeals to the understand- 
ing and the heart, to convince the one of sin and win the other 
to God. No one can attend such a ministry, and remain in a 
state of impenitency, without making constant opposition to his 
convictions of right and to the dictates of his conscience. The 
process which is going on necessarily, in the mind of every 
impenitent man under the Gospel, is a hardening process. In 
awakening appeals which every Sabbath are sounded from the 
sacred oracles, there is created a necessity for renewed and in- 



8 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



creasing opposition, if lie refuse to hear them and submit to 
God. Under such an influence it is impossible to remain un- 
affected — the heart of necessity grows harder, and the mind 
becomes more insensible to the interests of eternity and to the 
salvation of the soul. Every day is therefore in effect a step 
backward from the path of life, and renders the probability 
increasingly certain that no means will be found so efficient, 
no warnings so importunate, no expostulations so affecting, as 
to bring the rebel to the foot of the cross and bow his stub- 
born neck to Christ. 

Estimate now, if you can sufficiently, the demerit of such a 
state. All sin is a great evil in the sight of God ; but impeni- 
tence is a dreadful and aa-ojravated evil. Its character is hate- 
ful and its consequences are most appalling. It not only turns 
our hearts away from God, but it makes him our enemy. " It 
is an evil and a bitter thing (says the prophet) that thou hast 
forsaken the Lord thy God, and that his fear is not in thee." 
It produces a blind insensibility to all the mercy and compas- 
sion of God, and leads us to disregard his vengeance and to 
dare his wrath. It obscures the understanding so that we can 
not see our true interest, and hardens the heart so that we can 
not estimate the danger of our position and our relation to 
eternal things. It has an infatuating power which produces 
blindness and leads ns to call evil good, and good evil, and 
waste upon the pleasures of sense and the vanities of time the 
treasures of immortal glory. 

Impenitence is opposed to the character of God, and the 
claims of his righteous law. It contravenes directly his right 

O t/ CD 

in us and the authority which he claims to rule over us. It 
can not exist in any of his creatures without obligations of the 
utmost moment, in the moral government of the world, being 
violated, and claims the most affecting and tender being dis- 
regarded. 

Impenitence makes the character of man as a creature of 
God hateful in the sight of his Maker by making him a de- 
spiser of his goodness and long-suffering. There are no cir- 
cumstances possible which can so mitigate its evil or extenu- 
ate its ingratitude as to deprive it of this hateful feature, or 
prevent this fearful result. Hence he can not away with it. 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



9 



Hence his determination to punish it; because if it were suf- 
fered to continue in this his moral empire, it would not only 
destroy his right to reign as a sovereign, but absolutely endan- 
ger the health of all his creatures. To refrain from punish- 
ing it would be to abandon his cherished purpose, forego 
the most solemn declarations of his truth, and prove unfaith- 
ful to himself where both his authority and our dearest inter- 
ests were involved. Hence there are so many threatenings of 
wrath, so many warnings, so many assurances that the sin- 
ner shall certainly die, and that all the impenitent shall per- 
ish forever from his presence in the burnings of his indigna- 
tion. " The wages of sin is death." The sinner, though an 
hundred years old, shall die. " God shall cast the fury of his 
wrath upon the wicked and rain it upon them." 

The Gospel furnishes to an apostate world the only means 
of escape from the consequences of impenitence, which grace 
has been enabled to devise, and in which God can be just and 
the sinner obtain salvation. In the Gospel, the character and 
work of Jesus Christ are clearly exhibited, and all suitable 
promises of encouragement presented, to persuade us to em- 
brace his righteousness by faith, and live ; while in its moral 
influence we have the most effectual means to overcome the 
enmity of our hearts and the pride of our unbelief. Through 
the enlightening and sanctifying influences of the Holy Ghost, 
it is " the power of God and the wisdom of God " to renew 
the heart and cleanse the soul from sin. If this great instru- 
ment fails and these means prove inefficient, there remains to a 
sinner no more hope ; for there is no other sacrifice for sin, 
no other name by which we can be saved, no other instrument 
to awaken us to life. 

This the faithful pastor knows, knows it well. Pie has a 
double evidence of this solemn truth. He has the determina- 
tion of Gocl as expressed in his word, and a consciousness re- 
sulting clearly from the work of grace in his own heart. He 
has seen God's truth fructifying in the humble and contrite 
heart, and producing a meetness for heaven. He has witness- 
ed, too, how upon the impenitent it produces hardness and 
blindness, and how, the savor of it being lost, it works death. 
If he be a true Christian, he has, besides this, experienced 



10 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



in his own soul the terrors of the wrath of God, and felt the 
fearful dread of his indignation against sin. "When he pleads 
with men, he speaks, consequently ? with all the earnest impor- 
tunity of . real conviction, and with all" the persuasive elo- 
quence inspired by a sense of the danger which he sees ; de- 
claring what he hath seen, and urging what he hath known in 
his own experience. 

In many cases, moreover, he feels a peculiar interest. For 
some he is conscious of strong affection, for he is dealing with 
those whom he loves ; in others a yearning tenderness, for he 
is pleading with those for whom he would willingly impart 
not the Gospel only but his own soul also to bring them to 
Christ. What affecting associations at the same time urge him 
on in his work, and point the language in which he addresses 
them ! He has seen them in affliction — he has sought to 
comfort them in their sorrows. He has stood by their sick-bed 
to warn — by their death-bed to entreat. He has met them in 
the path of pleasure as a faithful mentor, and in the vale of sor- 
row as a tender, sympathizing friend. He has borne them on 
the arms of faith and prayer, in his retirement, at the throne 
of grace, and with many strong cries and tears sought to bring 
down the blessing of God upon their souls. For many long 
years he has followed them, and endeavored to impress their 
minds with a sense of sin, and win their hearts to holiness. 
But all seems to be in vain. Every means which he has con- 
trived, every instrument which he has adopted, fails. All the 
avenues to their heart appear to be closed, and insensibility 
grows more insensible — impenitence more impenitent. Years 
roll on — death approaches — judgment draws near, and the day 
of grace is just ended ! "What is he to do ? He knows they 
must die ; he knows just as well that they are not prepared to 
die. Shall he abandon them? shall he throw off from his 
mind and heart all interest in their welfare ? How can he do 
this ? They are associated with all his recollections of the 
past. Their name rises up in all the solemn scenes of his life, 
and their image is entwined with the tenclerest feelings of his 
heart. He must therefore be sad, very sad, when thinking of 
their end ; and many gloomy, very gloomy anticipations must 
crowd upon his mind as he follows them to the conclusion of 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



11 



their course. lie expects to stand "by their death-bed, when 
the hand of the destroyer is npon them, and the swellings of 
Jordan come into their souls : and he knows that that last 
struggle must be a fearful one — that that last hour must be 
without hope. Can he then cease to feel for them, to warn 
them, to pray for them ? Ah no! no! Like the prophet he 
will weep in secret, " and complain that the fountain of his 
emotion is dried up. He knows too well the whole of their 
dreadful condition, and sees but too certainly the whole terror 
of their fearful doom. If his head were waters and his eyes 
a fountain of tears, he would weep day and night for the slain 
of the daughter of his people. 1 

This is one application of the sentiment in our text. It is 
almost literally that of the Prophet himself. He saw a tem- 
poral ruin coming upon his friends and fellow-citizens. We 
have described the spiritual and eternal ruin which awaits the 
impenitent. This is as certain as that which he foresaw, and 
infinitely more awful in its consequences. If the vision of 
the former filled his mind with dreadful forebodings and drew 
a flood of tears from his eyes, how much more must the latter 
overwhelm an affectionate Pastor with sorrow ! . O impeni- 
tent man! you do not know how much prayer and kindness it 
becomes necessary for you to oppose and prevent in order to 
hold on your guilty course. You do not know how much you 
grieve the heart of your friend. How affectionately desirous 
he is of your peace ; and how truly he can say with Paul, " We 
are willing, not only to impart unto you the Gospel of God, 
but our own souls also, because ye are dear to us !" Oh ! when 
will you be wise, and cease to grieve his heart, and the heart of 
that affectionate Saviour, who once died for you on the cross, 
and still pleads for you in heaven ? 

Need I pause to tell you personally to-day how much I de- 
sire your peace ? Need I remind you that I have been seeking 
it earnestly for five years ? Shall I call to your remembrance 
all the prayers sent up to heaven in your behalf, which you 
have prevented; all the . warnings, urged with importunity, 
which you have disregarded ; all the expostulations, earnest 
and repeated, which you have set at naught ? May I not ask 
you, is it nothing that all this has been in vain ? Are there 



12 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



no forebodings in it ? Does it give no evidence of a moral 
state, or a coming retribution ? Five years of earnest effort 
to save yon, but in vain ! Then yon have five years of neglect- 
ed gospel privilege to answer for, and I charge yon to look to 
it ; for your eternal interests are involved in the answer you 
will give to God when you stand in judgment. 

II. Another illustration is furnished in the feelings which 
grow up between Christian friends. Suppose the existence of 
strong bonds of affection between two individuals. Such en- 
dearments are often formed to cheer and bless this scene of 
misery through which we are passing in our earthly pilgrim- 
age. They may have resulted from habitual intercourse and 
many acts of reciprocated kindness. They may be the effect 
of family alliance leading to intimacy and the appreciation of 
mutual good qualities, as in the instance of David and Jona- 
than. Or perhaps they result from similarity of sentiment 
and taste — from kindred feelings and attractive accomplish- 
ments. Love may have endeared the sacred bond, an antici- 
pation have desired and agreed that it should be cemented and 
consecrated at thg matrimonial altar. The two hearts are now 
perfectly united in sentiment and feeling, in taste and desire ; 
but there is one subject where their views separate, and they 
have nothing in common. The one is a follower of the Lamb 
— the other rejects Christ and his Gospel. The one sees a 
beauty in Christ and loves him ; the other is more than indif- 
ferent, he tramples him under his feet. The one experiences 
all the power of faith and hope, and tastes all the sweetness 
of communion with God ; the other knows only the pleasures 
of sense, and is moved alone by the fascinations of the world. 
They are one in all things, except that which is the most im- 
portant to be agreed in, because it is capable of exciting the 
strongest feelings, and really has the largest share in forming 
character and shaping our destiny. Here they are obliged to 
separate. Here there is no common bond of sympathy; and 
they are mutually afraid to touch the tender chord lest its vi- 
brations should produce discord — perhaps even excite feelings 
of dislike. Is all this nothing to their happiness ? It is ; 
for how can the voice of affection and conscience be silenced, 
the thoughts of eternity be prevented ? 



MEMORIAL SEEMOXS. 



18 



In this state of tilings, therefore, how will the Christian be 
affected ? He knows the importance of the grand reality ; but 
how shall he communicate his sense of it ? He is deeply con- 
vinced of its value in every point of view, and for every pur- 
pose of life, now as well as hereafter ; bnt how shall he impart 
his convictions, and persuade his friend to entertain the same 
sentiments ? Can he prevent his thoughts from wandering to 
death and judgment ; or his imagination from picturing the 
awful condition of that very friend, when the soul is lost ; or 
fail to feel the anguish of a .separation forever? Think of 
all his love — how often he has borne that friend on the arms 
of prayer to the mercy-seat, how many contrivances he has 
adopted to win his heart from sin and bring him to Christ, 
how closely lie is bound to him, and how many ties must be 
broken in a final separation. 

Is there nothing now in such a scene as we have painted ? 
Will it not naturally engender the greatest anxiety, and pro- 
duce the strongest yearnings of heart — anxieties and yearn 
ings proportioned to the blessings to be secured and the evils 
avoided % It is not a mere temporal good which is sought ; 
but an interest in the grace of God. The pearl is the pearl of 
great price ; and no earthly treasure has ever been desired 
more ardently than Christian love hath often sought to enrich 
the object of its affection with that priceless gem, or than it 
has striven to turn away the wrath of God from him who is 
d ear to it. Tears have been copiously shed ; and oh ! how many 
ardent prayers have ascended to heaven ! Think of it ! How 
can we suffer a friend whom we love to go down to destruc- 
tion without efforts to save him '? How can we day by day see 
his onward course and not attempt to draw him back ? How 
can we realize the wretchedness of his condition, and his hope- 
less end, without feeling impelled by the interest which he 
lias in our hearts, to endeavor to arrest his career, and turn his 
feet from death ? Ah ! yes indeed ! Many a tender Christian 
heart hath wept in secret bitter tears — many a friend impor- 
tuned Heaven to have mercy upon and spare his friend. 
Many a pious wife or daughter pleaded long and earnestly for 
husband or father ; and even sorrowed like the Prophet, after 
the fountain of her tears was dry, that she could not weep on 



14 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



and make them flow niglit and day. If tears and prayers 
could save souls, tears would flow and prayers ascend perpetu- 
ally to accomplish that end ; but they will not always succeed. 
Impenitence is proof es^en against the power of the heart ; and 
who can tell the anguish experienced when hope is lost and 
despair throws its dark .mantle over such a loving spirit ? 

Oh ! that the impenitent knew how much they always resist 
to continue in their sin ! The church prays for them, their 
Christian friends pray for them, and their associates and bosom 
companions in secret weep over their condition, and by strong 
cries and tears seek to move Heaven to save them from perdi- 
tion. Oh ! that the impenitent knew what anguish of heart 
their ungodly course causes those who love them to suffer ! 
Yes, and there are some of you who do know this, but it does 
not move you. Your nature is so perverted — your heart so 
hard, you love your idols so well — that after them you will 
go, even though friends and lovers should weep ever so much. 
Let me tell you, however, that you are sinning against your 
own souls as much as you are sinning against affection ; and 
that the bitterest dreg in your cup of trembling will be the 
thought of what you have done all your life, in resisting so 
stoutly the kindness of Christian affection. 

Is it necessary now to remind you, Christian brethren, that 
I stand related to each one of you individually as a friend ; 
that I experience all the solicitudes of that relation ; that all 
the earnest importunity that love has ever engendered in the 
heart and employed in prayer, has been employed for you — 
employed for these five long years ; and that all the bitterness 
of disappointment mingles in the cup which you commend 
necessarily to my lips, by your remaining in sin ? Need I ap- 
peal to you on this ground, and remind you, as the apostle did 
his Philippian converts, that " I have you in my heart V\ that 
I have been willing to impart to you all the treasures which 
grace has laid up for us in Christ ? If kindness could have 
won you, it must have done so before to-day ; or if importu- 
nity had power to overcome your disinclinations to holiness, it 
must have brought you to the feet of the Eedeemer. Alas ! 
that it has not ; and that the close of a cycle of years finds 
you yet in the attitude of an opposer to Christ's authority, and 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



15 



a rejector of Lis mercy. Will you continue so until you 
die? 

III. "We may suggest another application of the sentiment 
in our text. The anguish of parental bosoms when their in- 
structions, prayers, warnings, and expostulations all prove 
yain. Many a bleeding heart has felt the import of the pro- 
phet's language, Oh ! that my head were waters, and my eyes a 
fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the 
slain of the daughter of my people ! 

Among the interesting relations which are formed by that 
ordinance of heaven which has " placed man in families upon 
the earth," none is more sacred — none is stronger, than that 
which exists between parents and children. On the one hand 
there is all the instinctive love of a father or . mother for their 
offspring, strengthened by the care which it has rendered neces- 
sary and the kindness which it has prompted. On the other 
there is all the gratitude Vhicli a consciousness of these expres- 
sions of love originates, i No ties can be more sacred than 
these, and no relation involves more feelings that are natural- 
ly calculated to awaken sentiments of interest and* kindness. 
A parent experiences pleasure in seeking the welfare of his 
child in all possible ways. He subjects himself to toil and la- 
bor, to lay up for him a store of good things for the . present 
life. He denies himself many gratifications which^he furnish- 
es willingly to him ; and in doing so he regards not the self- 
denial — he does not even count it a sacrifice ; 'for he finds sat- 
isfaction in it — so deeply solicitous is he to advance the inte- 
rests and secure the welfare of those he loves. If he could be- 
stow a thousand times more, and deny himself a thousand 
times oftener, he would not grudge it, could he only shower 
down all upon the object of his affectionate solicitude. 

Such is parental affection — so deep — so self-denying— always 
so full of anxious concern — always so ready to make sacrifices. 
It is" a noble, a heaven-derived endowment. In it God's wis- 
dom and his mercy to his creatures are both displayed. How 
much the world is benefited by it ! 

But the affection of a Christian parent, what is it ? Has it not 
the same deep and instinctive feelings % Has it not all of these 
ennobled^ consecrated, and directed to higher ends \ Does he 



16 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



not as a Christian necessarily experience a strong desire that his 
children should enjoy the hopes of religion, and be brought un- 
der the aegis of its protecting power ? He knows how much it 
will benefit them, for he has himself tasted of its fruits in his 
own pilgrimage. He is sensible how much the heart of man 
needs such a kind hand to soothe its anguish in the hour of 
trial ; for he has himself been pelted by adverse storms. He 
is conscious, from his own errors, that nothing can so effectu- 
ally guard in temptation — guide in perplexity — and restrain 
when corrupt desires importune, as'that blessed monitor. He 
has tasted the bitterness of sin — has trembled before the aw- 
ful judgment-seat — has gone down into " the valley of Baca, 
weeping," and saw no " springs of water" there — and knows 
well that there is no hope but in the consolations which the 
Gospel of Jesus Christ imparts. His knowledge and experience 
both confirm the declarations of divine Revelation, and con- 
vince him that nothing but its influence, in converting the soul 
and sanctifying the heart, can make salvation sure. 

The depth and force of these convictions may be shown from 
several circumstances. You may consider the motive of those 
careful instructions in the doctrines and duties of religion. 
What was it but the manifestation of a desire on the parent's 
part to bring his child acquainted with its power ? You may 
consider the motive of his example, walking carefully before his 
house — what was it but that he might be a guide to one whom 
he knew to be prone to err and hard to be convinced ? You 
may listen to his prayers ; and if yon do so, you will clearly 
perceive how affection deepens their tone of earnestness and 
kindles an ardent flame of his devotion as soon as his little 
ones engage his heart, and he begins to plead in their behalf. 

But suppose now, that Christian parent called in providence 
to witness the infatuated course of a prodigal — all his in- 
structions despised — all his affectionate counsel disregarded — 
all his prayers and pleadings in vain ! Sin, the monster sin, 
proving too strong for all the barriers which he has opposed to its 
power ; and like a victorious conqueror capturing one after an- 
other the defenses set to protect the citadel of the heart against 
its assaults. That beloved child who was trained so carefully 
for heaven, going forward in the forbidden way until his feet 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



17 



take hold on hell. What are his feelings now ? Is any pen 
adequate to describe the bitterness of his heart, or paint the an- 
o-uish of his bosom ? Ah ! it is horrible ! There is a sense of 

£5 

disappointment, a feeling of indignation, and a sentiment of 
abhorrence and disapprobation, all mingling their bitter dregs 
in the cup which is presented to his lips, and which he is forced 
to drink, which almost dries up his spirit. So many fond an- 
ticipations are blasted, and so much enjoyment prevented, that 
he can not cease. Tears are shed, and bitter tears, as often as 
he remembers the lost one. He almost feels, sometimes, as if 
he could have given his life's blood, if it would have redeemed 
that child from ruin. He never goes to a throne of grace but 
lie remembers him there. He never bows himself in confes- 
sion before God, but the bitterness of his sorrow is brought to 
remembrance. The slain idol of his affections — the cherished 
jewel of his fond desires — how can he forget him ? " How 
shall I give thee up, Ephraim?" is his constant cry ! " Oh! 
that Ishmael my son might live before thee" — his daily prayer 
— and often the anguish of his spirit breathes itself forth in the 
language of David, " O my son Absalom, my son, my son 
Absalom ! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, 
my son !" " Oh ! that my head were waters, and my eyes a foun- 
tain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of 
the daughter of my people." 

And is there not, in the relation of pastor and people, every 
thing that gives force and tenderness to that of a parent and his 
offspring ? What then, I ask you, are my feelings to-day, in 
being obliged, after five years of patient toil, to see you yet with- 
out an interest in Christ ? Some of you may conceive of them 
from experience. Perhaps your prodigal has wandered from 
the shadow of your roof, and spent all his substance in riotous 
living — perhaps your son has been blind to the obligations of 
duty, and the instincts of self-preservation, and lived in sin un- 
der a plenitude of gospel light and influence. Perhaps you 
have often sought to win him, but in vain ; and now can only 
yearn and yearn, even though hope seems denied. Ah Christian 
parent ! you know the feelings of our heart. You can tell what 
a weight lies upon it to-day — and why it is, that we endeavor 
to give utterance to its deep emotions in the prophet's words, 



18 MEMORIAL SERMONS. 

" Oil ! that my head were waters, and mine eves a fountain of 
tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the 
daughter of my people.*' 

Application. — Let us now for a moment consider what mo- 
tives the subject presents to the impenitent to turn from sin. 
We do not at the present time " reason with you of righteous- 
ness, temperance, and a judgment to come;" we do not seek to 
move you by the love of Jesus Christ, or the grace of the Holy 
Spirit ; we do not entreat you by the worth of your souls or 
the joys of heaven ; nor warn you to beware, for there is 
wrath. All this has often been done ; and alas ! with many it 
has been in vain ! 

We seek to-day an avenue to your hearts less trodden, and 
we hope, on that account, more sure of success. Perhaps your 
feelings have become jaded by the . frequency with which ap- 
peals have been made to them — Gospel-ridden and grace-har- 
dened, you have ceased to feel the force of religious obligations. 
We tell you then to-day how much your pastor loves you — how 
often he prays for you — what distress of mind your continued 
impenitence causes him. Do you love him ? Are you sensible 
that he is your friend, and that he is seeking to do you good ? 
Oh ! grieve no more his affectionate heart ! Give him no more 
cause to cry unto God, " O that my head were waters, and 
my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night 
for the slain of the daughter of my people." He can have no 
rest while you live in sin. He can, as a minister of Christ, 
know no comfort but in seeing your joys abound and your 
hearts melting for the beatitudes of heaven. 

We come also to tell you how your Christian friends and 
companions feel, when they see you rejecting the only Saviour 
and madly following after ruin. How they regret that amid 
all the bliss of communion, and the pleasure arising from asso- 
ciation of friend with friend in heaven, they can not anticipate 
the joy of seeing you there. That their hearts now yearn over 
you, and ceaseless prayers ascend to heaven in your behalf : 
and to ask you whether all this tenderness, solicitude, and affec- 
tion is to be in vain 1 and shall it indeed be in vain ? 

We come to call up to your remembrance the tears and 
prayers of that parent who is perhaps now in heaven, looking 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



19 



down from his serene abode, and watching your' course — those 
prayers and tears which your welfare prompted, and which 
your impenitence multiplied ; and to ask you, whether they 
are to be in vain. To remind you of that parental instruction 
and example, under the influence of which your earliest years 
were blessed, and to ask you, whether you are going to forsake 
it finally and render it all abortive ? We come to claim a place 
in your hearts to-day, for we are speaking in the name of those 
who have the best right to speak to you, and to ask you wheth- 
er you have forgotten their love, and mean to disappoint their 
hopes, disavow their counsels, and wound them in their teu- 
derest affections ? 

Think how many hearts are burning to sec you in the way 
of life. How many prayers have made you consecrate to God. 
How many affectionate, how many solemn motives urge you 
to-day to make your choice. Five years of warning and solici- 
tude, of prayer and privilege, is no small account to answer 
for to God. Shall they all prove vain ? Eternity will answer 
the question, though you do not. 



THE SECOND MEMOEIAL SEKMOX. 



Preached Oct. 30th, 1842. 

THE REVIVALS OP RELIGION IX THE CHURCH OF R A KIT AX. 

" Remember ye not the former things ; neither consider the things of 
old."— Isaiah 48 : 18. 

The inquiry of the Prophet implies astonishment that any 
men of consideration could be so reckless as to neglect the in- 
struction of the past ; and well might he be surprised. "What 
is our experience but the memory of former things, and the 
judgment of reason in regard to them \ What is our prudence 
but avoiding the evils of the present as we have learned them 
in former clays ? A course of life in which prudence and ex- 
perience should both be neglected would be sure to end in 
disaster. It is wise therefore always to remember the for- 
mer things" and " consider the things of old." When it is 
possible for us to do so, it is also important to embody it in 
the form of a narrative, that its lessons, being faithfully and 
impressively presented, may the more deeply impress our 
minds and influence our hearts. 

History therefore has by the general sense of mankind been 
considered as one of the most important sources of knowledge. 
All men seem to be aware how much " that which hath been' 5 
is " that which shall be," and how necessary it is for us to 
know it, in order to judge right and lire to advantage. There 
is, however, a moderation to be observed in the reverence which 
we attach to " the things of old," and the use which we make 
of their teachings. The manner in which it is sometimes 
spoken of would almost lead us to infer, that it was regarded 
as having embodied all truth and righteousness ; and that all 
wisdom and good conduct have since tailed from the earth ! 
Such extravagance is unwise and mischievous. It arises from 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



21 



that indiscriminate admiration, in which neither reflection nor 
judgment has been exercised. Lord Bacon seems to have 
stated exactly the use of antiquity. " It deserveth that reve- 
rence that men should make a stand thereupon, and discover 
what is the best way ; but when the discovery is well taken, 
then to make progression." It is good as a Teacher, but not 
safe or proper as a resting-place. 

On the other hand, to disregard entirely, as some are disposed 
to do, the experience of the past, and boldly launch out into the 
stormy sea of life without a chart to guide us, may display a 
venturous spirit, and be commended as such ; but certainly it 
is not a mark of prudence or of wisdom. Says Burke, " "When 
ancient opinions and rules of life are taken away, the loss can 
not possibly be estimated. From that moment we have no 
compass to govern us, nor can we know distinctly to what 
point we steer." This is true : and the wisest and best men 
have been those who were neither slavish in their reverence of 
the past and their subjection to it, nor heedless of the many 
lessons which it teaches ; not unwisely trammeled by it, nor 
yet so self-confident as to rush forward without its guiding 
wisdom and instruction in the conduct of life. It deserves to 
be well considered, but not " rested in." Bacoivs " progres- 
sion" is the watchword of improvement, and by listening to 
it the world has arrived at her present stage of advanced per- 
fection, in almost every branch of human wisdom — to have 
rested would have prevented all. 

To-day seems to be a point from which it may be proper to 
take a retrospective view of the dealings of Divine Providence 
with us as a people. It is the anniversary of the tenth year 
of my ministry among you : and I purpose to erect an Ebe- 
nezer here and offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving. God's good- 
ness has been great, and should be recognized ; and the poet 
tells us 

" 'Tis greatly wise to talk of our past hours, 
And ask them what report they bore to heaven, 
And how they might have borne far welcomer news." 

There is much in the past that will be [of real advantage to 
us by way of encouragement in the future. In reviewing the 
history of this church only in one particular — the amount of 

2' 



22 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



spiritual influence which God has deigned to bestow upon us, 
I have been so much delighted, as to induce me to arrange the 
facts in their order, and present them in the form of a succinct 
narrative. Adopting the recommendation of inspired wisdom, 
to remember the former things and consider the things of old, 
I shall present the history of those spiritual communications 
with which God has been pleased to accompany the dispensa- 
tion of the word and ordinances among the people of this 
congregation. I believe there are but few churches in the land 
that have records so full of the manifestations of divine good- 
ness, or a history more rich in evidences of divine care. 

During the first twenty years after the organization of this 
church — March 9th, 1699 — it enjoyed only occasionally the 
means of grace. The records would seem to indicate that 
twice, or sometimes thrice, in the course of the year, some 
preacher visited them, and then children were baptized and 
the Lord's Supper administered. From such a scanty seeding 
of the ground no adequate crop could be anticipated ; and 
yet, by the blessing of God, the church did increase, at least 
in the number of those who attended on the means of grace 
and aided in supporting them, until in process of time it 
began to feel strong. About 1718, in connection with New- 
Brunswick, Six-Mile-Run, and North Branch,* the church 
of Raritan ventured upon the effort to call, and agreed to 
provide for the support of a pastor. The important docu- 
ment, after having been duly prepared, was dispatched to 
Holland, and the Classes of Amsterdam was expected to select 
the pastor and send him out by their authority and with their 
recommendation. It was an anxious time among those who 
loved Zion and prayed for her prosperity, and these prayers 
were happily answered. The call was accepted by Theodoras 
Jacobus Frelinghuysen, and he arrived in New- York in Janu- 
ary, 1720. As early as February he assumed the duties of 
his pastoral relation, embracing in the wide range of it 
almost the entire county of Somerset at that time sparsely 
settled and almost destitute of roads and bridges and other 
facilities of intercommunication. 

* Now called Readington. 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



23 



It is impossible to ascertain accurately what was tlie state 
of the churches at the time when Mr. Frelinghuysen as- 
sumed the pastoral charge of them. !N"o record remains, if 
any ever existed, of those who had been admitted into its 
communion previous to his day. There occur, however, on the 
list of baptisms the names of about seventy families belong- 
ing to the congregation. This indicates its numerical strength ; 
and there had been three hundred and eighty children and two 
adults baptized, during the preceding twenty- one years. There 
must therefore have been at least a general external regard to 
the ordinances of God's house by the first settlers of this sec- 
tion of our State, and some benefit resulting from the occasion- 
al services which they had enjoyed under all the disadvantages 
of their circumstances, or these facts would not remain as 
materials of history. The baptism of the adults proves that a 
church existed, preserving order and providing for the admi- 
nistration of sacraments ; and that the preaching of the Gospel 
was blessed to the conversion of some. 

But although the records of the church are so meagre, we 
are happily furnished with testimony from another source, 
which will not be disputed, to aid us in forming an estimate 
of the spiritual state of the church, though not immediately 
referring to it. This testimony will show that although there' 
might be an external observance of the forms and the sacra- 
ments of the Christian religion, yet that an experience o£' 
their power was by no means a general accompaniment of 
such observance. There must have been a great want of: 
practical and serious Christianity. It was the fault of the age- 
and the natural result of the destitution of the church. It" 
was the common fault of all the churches at that time, and 
was true not only of Baritan but also of many other parts of. 
the country. 

Christianity, as it is revealed in the Bible, is always the 
same, beautiful, bright, and pure — an emanation of divinity ; 
but as it exists in practical life, embodied in- the faith and 
conduct of different nations, communities, and ages, it exhibits 
almost an infinite variety of aspects and phases. Some of them 
are dark, amounting almost to a total extinction of its light and 
spirit, while others are bright and animating, displaying all its 



24 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



excellencies in prominent relief for the edification of mankind. 
It lias always been so, and will continue to be so until the end 
of time. 

The age succeeding the great Reformation, when the churches 
in this country were planted, may be characterized by a single 
word. It was a transition state. It retained some of that 
firm attachment to doctrine and purity of faith which had dis- 
tinguished the period when martyrs shed their blood freely in 
attestation of the truth ; but, by association with the spirit of 
the world, in days of prosperity and peace, it had learned to 
be content with a name to live, and rested in a faith without 
works. Its vital piety had almost ceased, and the fruits of 
godliness were stinted and scanty, though the forms and doc- 
trines of a better time remained. Emigrating from the father- 
land, our ancestors left behind them, not only their pleasant 
homes on the vine-clad hills of France and the verdant 
meadows of the Low Countries, but also, for a season at least, 
all the ennobling influences of their earlv associations and 
their church privileges. In this wilderness they found no 
Sabbath — no " sound of church-going bell," and no minister 
of Christ to instruct, admonish, and lead them to the cross. 
As a necessary consequence of such destitution their children 
grew up almost in a state of nature, without any of the in- 
fluence of those teachings and associations in which their 
fathers had been nurtured. When there was no persecutor to 
endear by his violence the very faith he sought to destroy, 
that faith was less esteemed and had less power. Their 
fathers' example and prayers, in the nature of things, would 
not be entirely lost upon them ; but it was too much to expect 
that they would transmit to their descendants the spirit of their 
piety, or that the children would become what they would 
have been if the sanctuary and the Sabbath had lent their 
aid to enforce parental precepts and example. Hence the 
natural effect of the position of the early settlers here would 
be, to impart to them a veneration for their fathers' faith, but 
to leave them without the savor of its divine influence, ^ow 
that this was a fact, and that we have given a true picture of 
their moral condition, is proved by competent witnesses, bear- 
ing testimony of others in the same circumstances. Says one, 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. » 



25 



" The difference between the church and the world was vanish- 
ing away, church discipline was neglected, and the growing lax- 
ness of morals was invading the church. The young were aban- 
doning themselves to frivolities and amusements of dangerous 
tendency; and party spirit was producing its natural fruit 
among the old. The progress of Arminianism had become 
so manifest as to cause alarm." This is a picture of the Puri- 
tan churches at this time, and there can be but little question 
that the features were general, and applied as well to the 
state of things in New-Jersey as in Connecticut and Massa- 
chusetts. 

We produce another. The Rev. Samuel Blair, one of the 
fathers of the Presbyterian church in America, employs the 
following language in reference to the state of the churches in 
Pennsylvania : " A very lamentable ignorance of the main 
essentials of true practical religion, and the doctrines nextly 
relating thereto, very generally prevailed. The nature and 
necessity of the new birth was but little known or thought of. 
The necessity of a conviction of sin and misery, by the Holy 
Spirit opening and applying the law to the conscience, in 
order to a saving closure with Christ, was hardly known at all, 
to the most. There was scarcely any suspicion at all, in gene- 
ral, of any danger of depending upon self -righteousness and 
not upon the righteousness of Christ alone for salvation." 

But we have testimony which is still more applicable. We 
come into the bounds of Mr. Frelinghuysems very charge 
itself ; and we hear Gilbert Tennant saying of the state of the 
church in New-Brunswick in 1741, a little before the time 
when Mr. Frelinghuy sen's labors closed, " I examined many 
about the grounds of their hope of salvation, which I found 
in most to be nothing but as sand." He is speaking of his 
own people, and not of those who had been converted under 
Mr. Frelinghuysen's labors, as we shall show presently by 
another extract from the same account. 

Now this was the aspect of the field which was to be culti- 
vated ; at least its moral condition could not have been more 
favorable than those of which we have given testimony ; and 
if we consider the fact that for more than thirty years, most of 
the inhabitants of this section of the country had been living 



26 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



in a wilderness without the Gospel, we may think it neces- 
sary to regard it as being even less favorable than they indi- 
cate ; and this would be nearer to the truth. 

Now mark the effect. Mr. Frelinghuysen commenced by 
preaching pointedly and seriously the necessity of a new 
heart. He insisted on Christian experience as a preparation 
for church membership and communion ; and restored disci- 
pline to its legitimate place in the house of God. There was 
immediately clamor, resistance, reproach;'" but he was not 
a man to be turned away from a course which he considered 
it his duty to follow, by any such influences : and besides the 
Holy Spirit had already begun to testify to the truth and ren- 
der it the power of God and the wisdom of Gocl to the 
salvation of souls ; how could he refrain from preaching it ? 
As early as 1726, when there were probably not more than 
twenty members in communion in the whole congregation, 
and only six years from the time of his first settlement, during 
all of which opposition and defamation had been rife, there 
were admitted to the communion seven at one time on con- 
fession of faith. It must have been a day of joy to. his heart? 
and of triumph to the cause of truth. It was indeed a great 
day. Seven added to twenty is equal to an addition of forty 
in a church composed of one hundred members ; and this 
would, even now, be regarded as an extraordinary work. But 
we must consider that this was the fruit of his work 
JRaritan. Now if the same state of things existed at JSTorth- 
ISranch, Six-Mile-Run, and New-Brunswick — and that it did 
all traditional history asserts — and a corresponding number 
were introduced into the churches in each of these conores-a- 
tions, it was indeed a great day for Zion. But it did not end 
here. There is evidence that it continued in subsequent years. 
There were also accessions to the church of more than ordinary 
numbers in 1729 and 1734. 

But the greatest blessing seems to have been enjoyed in 
1739 ? simultaneous with the revival at Northampton under 

* See tlie complaint published "by a part of liis Consistory, in which it is 
attempted to "be shown that his doctrine of regeneration is not the doctrine of 
the Church— and exceptions are taken to his whole course, especially his 
discipline, 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



27 



Jonathan Edwards ; and between these two revivals in other 
respects there w^as a striking similarity. They both originated 
in pointed doctrinal discussions, brought on a conflict between 
formalism and practical Christianity, and stirred up some of 
the w T orst passions in the human heart ; but while Edwards 
was ejected from his charge, Mr. Frelinghuysen not only 
maintained his place and his influence, but perpetuated the 
work, until, finally, in the days of his successor, Dr. Harden- 
bergh, even the hearts of his enemies were conquered. 

The effect of this state of things was to give an entirely new 
asjDect to the state of the congregation. Religion became an 
object of almost universal attention and concern, and increased 
the desire and necessity for pastoral labors so much that Mr. 
Frelinghuysen was constrained to adopt an expedient, which 
seems to have been original with him ; indeed, we have no 
knowledge of its having been adopted at any time anywhere 
else. He appointed from among the most gifted and experi- 
enced of his male members certain individuals whom he called 
" helpers" whose office was to expound the Scriptures in the 
meetings for prayer and conduct them with order, visit and 
converse with the anxious and inquiring, and to catechise the 
youth. This step was considered as a bold departure from 
long-established usage in the Dutch Church by those who ex- 
cepted to Mr. Frelinghuysen's course, and would even now be 
regarded as a " new measure" of very questionable propriety 
and usefulness. It may be that it was, upon the whole, nei- 
ther wise nor safe ; although, from the character of the indivi- 
duals, their prudence, zeal, and godliness, its effects w T ere seen 
in the most favorable light ; but it is certain that his latter 
days were greatly embittered with strife, arising from the 
strong disapprobation expressed by some of the most influen- 
tial members in his church of the course which he thought 
proper to adopt. But whether it would have been possible, 
with his views of truth, to avoid such a contest, may admit of 
a doubt. It seems, at least, to be certain that in some sections 
of the church, whatever the ostensible pretenses may have 
been, the great contest of Coetus and Conferentie w T as, in fact, 
a struggle of formalism against vital godliness — of the law of 
progress against the inertia gendered by an admiration of the 



28 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



past. It was tlie spirit of this age and of tin's land fighting 
for liberty when the attempt was made to hind it down by 
forms, customs, and veneration for the fatherland ; and it 
conquered then, as it always will conquer in any future 
struggles. 

The records of the church warrant us in estimating the 
fruit of this year as having been the conversion of at least 
fifty souls within the bounds of Mr. Frelinghuyseirs pastoral 
charge. Of this number, ten are recorded as having united 
with the church at Haritan on confession. The accession is 
again equal to about one third of the whole number in com- 
munion. The records of the other congregations have perish- 
ed, or, we have no doubt, our conjecture would have been 
confirmed, by their names actually appearing upon them. 

In summing up, then, the results of the ministry of Mr. 
Frelinghuysen, we arrive at the following facts : There were 
thirty-eight added to his churches on confession in 1720, 
there were sixteen in each of the years 1729 and 1734, and 
there were fifty in 1739 ; the whole amount is one hundred 
and twenty. "We do not say that these numbers are abso- 
lutely correct ; but we do say that the data furnished us by 
the records of the church of Haritan fully sustain them, and 
even more than sustain them. From the records of New- 
Brunswick we have the following facts : About sixty persons 
were admitted to the communion. Many names are undoubt- 
edly omitted from the list, as some are not found there who are 
known to have been in the communion. The largest number 
received in any one year was in 1741, when there was an addi- 
tion of twenty-two persons. If we add these numbers together, 
we shall have in the two principal churches of his charge one 
hundred and eighty added on confession. This may well be 
regarded as evidence of a great revival. And when we consi- 
der the work of grace in connection with the external cir- 
cumstances of the age and the church in which it occurred, it 
magnifies itself greatly in our estimation. There was much 
ignorance, much laxity of moral principle, a leaning to Armi- 
nianism, few preachers, and but little opportunity of hearing 
or meeting to encourage one another. That one man should 
wield such an influence, and be able to sustain himself and 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



29 



Ills principles m the very midst of the fire kindled to consume 
him and them, is surely an evidence of the divine favor, and of 
special spiritual communications from abo\ r e. In fact, the 
whole work is as clearly marked with power and sanctifying 
grace as any of those with which the churches in other places 
were blessed about this period, and stamps the ministry of 
Mr. Frelinghuyseii as having been peculiarly favored and 
useful. The whole of its power we shall probably never 
know. 

There is also one other circumstance worthy of notice. 
Several of the converts in this revival lived until within the 
memory of some who are yet with us, and were uniformly 
distinguished for their deep experience and ardent piety. 
Fathers and mothers in Israel were they truly, always 
abounding in every good word and work. Gilbert Tennent, 
of New-Brunswick, alludes to them in his letter to Mr. 
Prince, of Boston, in 1744. " The labors of Mr. Frelinghuy- 
sen were much blessed to the people of New-Brunswick and 
places adjacent about the time of his coming among them, 
which was about twenty-four years ago, (in 1720.) When I 
came there, which was about seven years after, di vers of his 
hearers, with whom I had opportunity of conversing, ap- 
peared to be converted persons, by their soundness in prin- 
ciple, Christian experience, and pious practice; and these 
persons declared that the ministrations of the aforesaid gen- 
tleman were the means thereof." This is conclusive as to the 
spiritual character of the work. 

Here we are disposed to award the honor which the zeal 
and piety of this good man seem to demand from us. We 
regard him as being the instrument, in the hand of Provi- 
dence, to plant first the seed of truth and righteousness upon 
this soil, where, in subsequent years, such abundant harvests 
have been gathered. He broke up the fallow ground and 
prepared it for the glorious crop. He met and conquered the 
spirit of worldliness, self-righteousness, and carnal security, 
which had possession at least of the popular mind, if not of 
the church itself. This whole region owes his memory a 
debt of gratitude which it can never repay. His labors were 
the means of introducing early into the churches here, a tone 



30 



MEMOKIAL SERMONS. 



of piety, and a form of religious sentiment, which lias been a 
"blessing to them ever since. Their spirituality and peace are 
the fruits of it ; and we are yet enjoying the benefit of his 
labors in many ways. 

In order to understand the effect of his ministry, w T e must 
remember that the doctrine of the necessity of a new. heart 
had almost entirely been lost sight of, and that formalism. and 
self -righteousness almost universally prevailed. Christians 
were not ashamed to ridicule Christian experience, and many 
had become very resolute in opposing it. " The common 
names," says Blair, in reference to Pennsylvania, " for soul- 
concern were melancholy, trouble of mind, or despair. The 
necessity of first being in Christ, and in a justified state, 
before our religious services can be well-pleasing and accepta- 
ble to God, was very little understood or thought of; but the 
common notion seemed to be, that if people were aiming to be 
in the way of duty as well as they could, as they imagined, 
there was no reason to be much afraid." Upon this mass of 
corruption and worldliness the pastor's denunciations of the 
wrath of God were unceasingly poured out, warning, exhort- 
ing, and entreating all men, with all long-suffering and gen- 
tleness. In his public discourses he laid open the depravity 
and selfishness of the human heart, showed its entire aliena- 
tion from God, and insisted upon the absolute necessity that 
it should be regenerated. His doctrine had no sympathy 
with that heartless Arminianism which teaches the availa- 
bility of sincere but imperfect obedience ; but plainly incul- 
cated the great truth, that " the law is spiritual," and we are 
"carnal, sold under sin," and therefore must be made new 
creatures in Christ Jesus ; and that we are justified freely 
through his grace, by the redemption of the Mediator. No 
wonder that the slumbering lion w T as aroused, and shook his 
mane in menace, when his den was thus invaded ; nor, on the 
other hand, that God owned his truth, and attested it by the 
quickening operations of his Spirit. It is only what he has 
promised always to do. 

We have spoken of " helpers " who were appointed in the 
different congregations. Those for Karitan were Hendrick 
Fisher and Andrias Ver Meulen ; for Six-Mile Eun, Euluf 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



33 



Kevins and Elbert Stothoff ; and for North Branch, Peter 
Yan Arsdalen and John Wyckoff. 

The years 1750 and 1751 are marked on the records of the 
church as having witnessed more than an ordinary blessing 
upon the ministrations of the second pastor of this church — 
the Rev. John Frelinghuy sen. Twenty-seven were added to 
the communion of the church on confession of faith. This we 
record as the Second Revival at Raritan ; and it must have had 
the effect of again strengthening and encouraging the hopes 
of the pious. To understand its influence we must recollect 
that now the whole church was rent to atoms. Party spirit 
prevailed to an alarming extent, and embittered the common 
intercourse of life. In some places even personal violence 
was done at the very doors of the churches on the Sabbath 
morning : and Raritan was one of the centres from which this 
influence emanated, and where some of its bitterest spirit had 
been exhibited. The church had divided, and, however 
wrongfully, at least a respectable minority protested against 
the course of the pastor and consistory. That in such a state 
of things godliness should have triumphed, and brought so 
many to confess a meek and lowly Saviour, can be accounted 
for only by the presence of the " Spirit of peace." 

The ministry of Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh, who succeeded 
John Frelinghuysen about 1763, and continued to serve this 
church until 1781 — a period of eighteen years — was not 
marked by any special revival of religion. There are, how- 
ever, abundant evidences of his zeal and faithfulness in his 
Master's work, his earnest efforts to build up the church, and 
his ability as a clear, sound, and practical preacher, to attest 
his character. In fact, if we remember that his ministry em- 
braced the period of the Revolution, when all minds must 
have been so entirely absorbed in civil affairs ; that the army 
of Washington was encamped, for a time, within the bounds 
of his congregation, and he himself was obliged to desert his 
own house to secure his personal safety ; that there must have 
been a flood of iniquity spreading itself through the whole 
community as the effect of this state of things, no surprise 
can be experienced that it should be so : a revival could not 
be expected. And besides all this, the church edifice was 



32 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



burnt to the ground, and never restored until after he had re- 
signed his charge ; so that the people were without a house of 
worship. In such a time of trial, to save the " foundations of 
truth and godliness from being removed" was honor enough ; 

O CD CD J 

and this is the praise which his exertions and faithfulness de- 
mand from us. He was a great and a good man. His influ- 
ence was second to no minister of his time ; and the church 
manifested her estimate of his excellence by appointing him, 
soon after his removal from Raritan, to the presidency of 
Queen's College, in New-Brunswick, where he ended his days 
and was gathered to his fathers. He was a student of John 
Frelinghuysen, and subsequently married his widow, a woman 
whose piety has left a sweet savor in the midst of us. Juf- 
vrow Hardenbergh, among the aged, was a pattern of all that 
was good and gentle and sanctified ; and they have taught 
even the youth to reverence. her. 

The period embraced between the years 1785 and 1789, im- 
mediately after the death of the Rev. Theodoras Frelinghuy- 
sen Romeyn, and the settlement of the Rev. John Duryea, ap- 
pears to have been characterized by another outpouring of the 
Spirit upon the word and ordinances. Eighty-two were added 
to the church on confession of faith during this time — and we 
record this as the Third Revival in the Church of Raritan. 
It extended through the first five years of Mr. Duryea's ministry, 
and materially increased the amount of vital godliness in the 
church. Many circumstances seem to have conspired to pro- 
duce a favorable influence just then. The war of the Revolu- 
tion had closed, bringing peace and independence to these Uni- 
ted States ; and many had seen and acknowledged God's hand 
in the result. The church now enjoyed almost the whole ser- 
vice of her pastor, for Mr. Duryea only preached at Bedmin- 
ster once in three weeks. The ministry of Romeyn had been 
unusually spiritual and fervent, and had closed most impres- 
sively in his sudden and early death. He was a gifted and ex- 
traordinary young man, and his brief career left a deep im- 
pression upon the hearts of many ; and God made his successor, 
who was far inferior. to him in pulpit talent^ the instrument of 
gathering the harvest which he had sown. 

Again in 1802-3 and 4, there was a visible outpouring of the 



MEMORIAL SERMOXS. 



33 



Holy Spirit upon the labors of the Rev. John S. Yredenburgh, 
who had assumed the pastoral charge of the congregation in 
1800 — seven ty-sey,en individuals were received on confession of 
their faith. This we record as the Fourth Revival of Religion 
which God in his mercy has granted to this church to edify 
and build her up. And again in 1812-13 and 14 there were 
added forty-six members to the communion, on confession of 
faith, in the space of three years. We shall not enumerate 
this as a distinct revival, but only refer to it as we pass on. 

In 1821, Mr. Yredenburgh died suddenly after having con- 
tinued to exercise the pastoral office for nearly twenty-one 
years ; and as he descended to his rest, the Spirit came down 
to bless his labors and raise up the seed which he had sown with 
so much patience and prayer. This was a mighty shaking . in 
the valley of dry bones. In a year and a half, three hundred 
and sixty-eight were added to the communion of the church. 
This Fifth Revival of Religion will long remain as one of 
the most remarkable eras in our history as a church. It 
was indeed a Pentecostal season. The influence pervaded all 
ranks, embodied all conditions in life, moulding and blend- 
ing them into one mass, upon which the fear and love of God 
was indelibly impressed. For months, religion seemed to oc- 
cupy completely and almost exclusively the attention of the 
wdiole community, and neither business nor pleasure was suffer- 
ed to interrupt its services. But to record all the interesting 
incidents connected with it would require a volume to be writ- 
ten. Its great distinction from many which have been more 
loudly proclaimed, was its noiseless progress, its power and pu- 
rity. It was a work remarkably solemn, deep, powerful, spi- 
ritual ; and its results were such as are anticipated from such 
traits — permanent and abiding. Only two or three cases of 
discipline have become necessary, in the whole multitude which 
came thronging to the table of the Lord. This is the more 
worthy of note because it is so rare, and so distinctly indicates the 
gracious nature of the whole work, and how much of the Spirit 
of God was in it. The effect I need not describe, since there 
are here so many who witnessed it, and to whom its recollec- 
tion is almost as sacred as that of Pentecost was to the early 
Christians. The cloven tongues of fire were not visible to the 



34 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



eye of sense, but they burned in every heart ; and what the 
eye could not see the soul felt and enjoyed. 

During the whole time that this work of grace was in pro- 
gress the congregation was destitute of a pastor, and continued 
so until the settlement of the Rev. R. D. Van Kleek in 1824. 
The public services were maintained by the generous assistance 
of the neighboring ministry ; and a sermon of the Rev. Dr. 
Livingston on the Sabbath succeeding the death and burial of 
Mr. Yredenburgh was referred to by many of the converts as 
a time when their first convictions were felt. The Consistory 
also engaged for six months the services of the Rev. Truman 
Osborn, whose visits from house to house and various labors 
and exhortations had a most happy effect in carrying out and 
assisting the work. He seems to have been a man formed for 
exactly such a scene, and in the kind providence of God was 
sent to Raritan very opportunely for the accomplishment of 
the Lord's work. He is yet affectionately remembered by many 
of the converts of that Revival; and his very dust will be 
sacred in their eyes. He has entered into his rest, and his 
works will follow him. 

You must now allow me to speak of things still more recent, 
and pardon the necessary personality. They belong to a 
complete view of the subject, and cannot be omitted with pro- 
priety. We have yet to record another which we shall denom- 
inate the Sixth ^Revival of JReligion enjo} T ed by the church of 
Raritan. In the years 1837 and 1838 there is recorded an 
addition of eighty members to the communion of the church ; 
the larger portion were received on two occasions, and were 
the result of a very manifest blessing upon the word and ordi- 
nances. They compose at the present time, to some extent, the 
efficiency of the church ; and we should be ungrateful if we 
did not record the mercy of our God, and speak forth our 
gratitude by building up an JEbenezer of praise for the ful- 
fillment of his promise to own and bless his truth. 

The whole number of communicants whose names are re- 
gistered on the books of the church is one thousand and sev- 
enty-nine. Of them how large a portion are numbered with 
the dead, having been called to the service of the sanctuary 
on high ! Of this number three hundred and thirty-seven are 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



35 



at present in actual communion, traveling to the same inheri- 
tance of immortal blessedness and joy. 

The past ten years have been most eventful years. That 
little flock whose journey through the wilderness we have 
traced in the preceding memorials, and which we have seen in- 
creasing in number under the care and labor of faithful pastors 
employed to edify it, and the clews of divine influence sent 
from heaven upon it — has during these years been divided into 
two bands. When this event occurred it produced necessarily 
a disruption of many tender ties and hallowed associations — 
and was not effected without many tears. This was to be 
expected ; but now we are prepared to acquiesce in it, and 
concede that it was right. The number in our communion 
has already been so increased, by the blessing of God, as to 
exceed what it was previous to the division ; and the accession 
in families is nearly equal to the loss : so that the actual strentgh 
of the church is not materially impaired by what has occurred. 

The edifice in which our fathers so long worshiped has also 
been replaced by one more commodious and better adapted 
to the wants of the congregation ; and thus all those vexed 
questions , which arose out of the necessity of enlargement or 
reconstruction, and operated to the injury of our peace, are put 
at rest for a long time. Unanimity exists to as great an extent 
among all the members of the church, as it ever did at any pre- 
ceding period. If we could only witness a deeper spirit of de- 
votion in the house of God on the Sabbath day, and an enlarged 
measure of prayer animating the Christian bosom, we should 
be encouraged to hope for much. As it is, there seems to be 
danger of a Laodicean temper springing up among us, saying, 
" We are rich and increased with goods, and have need of noth- 
ing while in spirituals we may become actually " poor, and 
miserable, and blind, and naked." 

The oldest living member in the communion of this church 
has now been connected with it fifty-five years. This indivi- 
dual sat with us at the table of the Lord on the last commu- 
nion season. All those who were here when he united himself 
with the people of God have gone to rest ; he alone remains, 
to link the past with the present — the only remnant of a for- 
mer half-century. During this long period, he has worshiped 



36 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



almost every Sabbath-day around tbe same altar. He lias 
welcomed with joy all those who came to confess Christ, and 
mourned at the graves of all the departed. Few in this chang- 
ing world have been permitted to serve God so long in one 
place — very few to spend so many Sabbaths and communion 
seasons in one house of worship — and fewer still have had the 
privilege to welcome eight hundred and forty-four to the fel- 
lowship of the church. Honored servant, may his end be 
peace ! 

During the period we are commemorating there have been 
numerous changes in this community. Many, called in provi- 
dence to other places, have been cheerfully and honorably dis- 
missed, and some have gone to form for themselves another place 
of worship and other associations. But this is not all ; the de- 
stroyer has also been at work. The leaders of the host have 
fallen in great numbers and with frightful rapidity. Among 
those who welcomed me here and gave me their confidence, 
when with fear and trembling I consented to assume the pas- 
toral charge of this numerous people, but who are not here to- 
day and will not be here again, are Howell, Talmage, Veghte, 
Frelinghuysen, Yan Doren, Vroom, Van Arsdalen, Yan Dyke, 
Yan Arsdalen ; besides all the mothers in Israel, whose ardent 
prayers were accustomed to rise like morning incense to hea- 
ven and bringdown showers of blessings upon this heritage of 
the Lord. So busy has the destroyer been among the strong 
men and the aged, that now, when we look around, there are 
only a few venerable heads remaining to counsel and encou- 
rage. The pillars of the sanctuary are falling around us — the 
men who bore the ark disappearing — and as they fall, we feel 
in each stroke as if we had one friend less. 

Death ! great proprietor of all ! tis tliine 

To tread out empire and to quench the stars ; 

The sun himself by thy permission shines, 

And one day thou shalt pluck him from his sphere ! 

The complete number of deaths in our communion I have 
not the means of ascertaining, but it has been large. The 
number added on confession during ten years is two hundred 
and thirty-two ; the number of infants baptized two hundred 
and forty-five. Thus " one generation passeth away and an- 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



37 



otlier cometli" — the living are taking the places of the dead, 
and treading upon their steps. From the cradle to the tomb 
is only a span, but it is all we have to prepare for that vast 
eternity which ensues. It is like the vestibule to some mag- 
nificent temple, the glory of which swallows up all our impres- 
sions of what went before, and proves those only to be wise 
who so live as to secure an everlasting rest in heaven. 

Application. — The practical lessons which we are taught 
from this view of the past seem evidently to be, that God has 
recorded his name here, and in that record left the promise, 
sure to be fulfilled, " I will come and bless." It would seem 
to be sinful to doubt this, after what he has done ; and to form 
any other expectation than that which embraces the fulfillment 
of this promise would be culpable unbelief. There will be 
seasons of dearth, and cold and chilling winters — the church 
must pass through these ; but there will also come showers 
from heaven, and the spring-tide will appear, with its profu- 
sion of springing blades and opening flowers, giving presage of 
the fertility of the summer, and the fruits of autumn, to re- 
ward the faith and the toil of those who seek the good of Zion. 
Glorious things are spoken of thee, Zion, city of our God ! 

The effect of all the past is encouragement. If we abound 
in the work of the Lord, he will cause that our labors shall 
not be in vain in the Lord. When we wait upon him, he 
hears, and answers, and sends his Spirit down. But if we turn 
from him, he will hide his face from us, send his judgments 
to afflict us, and bring all our designs to naught. Should not 
a people, therefore, seek unto the Lord their God ? Seek him 
with all your heart, and he will be found. 

It would not be just if we did not also notice here the fact 
that in the relation of pastor and people we have enjoyed ten 
years of uninterrupted peace. I acknowledge the kindness 
with which I have been uniformly treated, the favor with 
which all my public services have been received, and the 
promptness with which every failure (and I am conscious of 
more than you seem to have noticed) has been passed over. I 
have been with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much 
trembling ; but what I have attempted has been sincere and 
with a good conscience. I have labored for your profit, and 
3 



38 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



never furnished any but beaten oil for the liffht of the sanctua- 
ry. This has not been always regarded in the right point of 
view. There are some who would rather have a social visit 
from their pastor than a good sermon, and there are some, too, 
so unreasonable as to expect both ; but I can not consider them 
wise or just. There may be others who think that it costs noth- 
ing to preach well, but they know nothing. There are ministers 
who shake their sermons out of their sleeves ; but are they 
worth "the shaking'' after they are out? The flock soon 
shows the kind of pasture upon which it has been subsisted. 
For myself I do not know a more heartless thing, or one more 
wicked, than for a minister to ascend the pulpit on the Sab- 
bath, and, when souls are hungry for the bread of life, talk 
nonsense in the name of the Lord ! If I have never done it, it 
has not been for the want of temptation, nor from a disinclina- 
tion to social intercourse ; but because I have been afraid. I 
could not so trine with your souls and my own responsibilities. 
It is much easier, and much more agreeable likewise, to spend 
an afternoon in a social circle, than in vlose and laborious think- 
ing in a silent chamber. It has not been for want of inclina- 
tion that I have never been a great visitor, but because my 
conception of what a faithful pastor ought to be embraced 
higher traits of character than those which are gratified with 
admiration in a lady's parlor ; and if you are wise, and seek 
the good of the church, you will allow me unmolested to pur- 
sue this course : so far it has been well. 

One generation passeth away and another cometh ! "We are 
now the living ; our children will be in a few years what we are 
to-day ! We are passing away ; and they will take our places. 
This solemn thought intrudes itself, like those effigies of the 
dead with which the Egyptians adorned their feasts, into our 
most sacred, as it does also into our most joyful, assemblies and 
associations. The hand of the destroyer is upon us all, and 
the gaping tomb waits to receive us. Oh ! if we could see to- 
day what ravages another ten years will make, how deeply 
would we be affected. Who is to die? The pastor? Which 
of the flock ? If we are wise, we shall so live as to make our 
calling sure ; and if we can conceive adequately of our responsi- 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



39 



bilities to the church, the world, our own souls, work while the 
day lasts ! 

To the youth, the return of this anniversary Sabbath makes 
a special appeal. You have seen how the blessing of God has 
attended his word and ordinances, converting souls to God ; 
how the ark has been sustained and carried forward ; how the 
Lord has been with his church here, blessing her and making 
her a blessing. The responsibilities which your fathers have so 
nobly borne in past years, are now coming upon you. Prove 
yourselves worthy of the trust reposed in you. These walls 
must be dear to you by many hallowed associations. They are 
not only consecrated to holy things, but baptized by the Holy 
Ghost and by prayer. "Within this sacred inclosure the Spirit 
has sealed your parents as the sons of God. If you desert them, 
or ever suffer them to remain desolate, you will be as guilty as 
though you had suffered the sepulchres of your fathers to be 
profaned. 

It has likewise another voice by which it speaks. You have- 
enjoyed ten years of earnest appeal from the word and ordi- 
nances of God. Why has it not resulted in your salvatior ( 
Can you give any good account why you are yet in your sins ? 
Oh ! be persuaded to turn to God and live. Religion is design- 
ed for man. It is necessary to his happiness. He is never 
what he ought to be, nor does he ever enjoy what he is capable 
of enjoying, without it. It sweetens every joy, destroys the 
edge of grief, and helps to bear the cross. It is the cordial of 
life — a sun to gild our path through the world, to light our 
steps when they are verging toward the dark valley, and to 
shine 'upon us in noonday effulgence in heaven. Hake it 
yours. Where so much prayer has been answered, come and 
consecrate yourselves to the service of the covenant -keeping 
God of your fathers, and make him your God and portion. 
To-day is the accepted time — now is the day of salvation,. 
May God bless his truth ! Amen. 



40 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



THE THIED MEMORIAL SERMON. 

PiiEAcnED Oct. 31st, 1847. 

EXPERIENCE AND DEATH INSTRUCTING MEN. 

" Inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search 
of their fathers : shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words 
out of their heart ? "—Job 8 : 8-10. 

History, it lias been said, is " philosophy teaching by exam- 
ple." " God," says D'Aubigne, " is in history." If this strik- 
ing sentiment is true, then it must be important for us to be 
acquainted with the records of the past, because we shall be 
able to draw from them many practical lessons, enabling us 
not only to live more wisely in the present, but to secure every 
advantage from the future. 

A poet has said of experience as it is taught us in history — 

" 'Tis very pregnant ; 
The jewel that we find, we stop and take it, 
Because we see it : but what we do not see, 
We tread upon and never think of it ; 
Therefore be in eye of every exercise !" 

Want of reflection, which is in fact inattention to the instruc- 
tion of the past and a neglect of the lessons which it teaches, 
is one of the most indubitable marks of a frivolous mind — a 
mind that will not become wise, however great its advantages 
or its acquaintance with life. In Scripture such neglect is 
characterized as a sin, and is charged as one of the occasions of 
the punishment of the Jews. " Israel doth not know ; my peo- 
ple do not consider." " If thou hadst known, even thou, in this 
thy day, the things which belong to thy peace ; but now they 
are hid from thine eyes." Inconsideration then constitutes the 
very centre and heart of that affectionate lamentation which 
our Saviour poured upon Jerusalem, as he looked upon it 
from the Mount of Olives, and foresaw how by rejecting and 
crucifying the Saviour, sent to redeem it from ruin, vengeance 
would be armed against its guilty people and fall upon them 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



41 



in utter desolation. Inconsiderateness was in the case of that 
doomed city the occasion of her destruction. 

There is, therefore, not only an intrinsic but also a personal 
interest in the records of the past. It has those lessons to teach 
us, which we can not well he wise and neglect ; those instruc- 
tions to give, which, if we refuse, we shall be almost certain to 
regret. If God is in history, it must be important for all God's 
creatures, if they would understand the order of his provi- 
dence, to acquaint themselves with it; for there they may ob- 
serve the ways of God — how he blesses those that seek him, 
and destroys transgressors out of his sight ; proving in his 
works what he has declared in his word, that " the willing and 
the obedient eat the fruit of the land, but those that refuse and 
rebel perish without remedy." 

Barrow has expressed himself so justly and appropriately in- 
regard to the use of history, that we adduce his language : 
" The perusal of history, how pleasant illumination of the mind, 
how useful direction of life, how sprightly incentives to virtue 
doth it afford ! How doth it supply the room of experience, 
and furnish us with prudence at the expense of others, inform- 
ing us about the ways of action and the consequences thereof 
by examples, without our own danger or trouble ! How may 
it instruct and encourage us in piety, while therein we trace 
the paths of God in men, or observe the methods of divine 
providence, how the Lord and Judge of the world in due sea- 
son protecteth, prospereth, blesseth, rewarcleth innocence and 
integrity ; how he crosseth, defeateth, blasteth, curseth, pun- 
isheth iniquity and outrage; managing things with admirable 
temper of wisdom, to the good of mankind, and the advance- 
ment of his own glory." If there are such lessons to be taught 
us in history, and such benefits to be derived from it, Ave can 
not well be wise, guide ourselves properly, or secure all the ad- 
vantages of our position without making the study of it apart 
of the serious business of our life. 

And what is history but an aggregation of individual life 
and experience — a record of that special care which is extend- 
ed by our Heavenly Father to each of his little ones I It is, 
in fact, individuality in its social combinations. The men of 
a nation, each one gazing upon his own portrait, in the picture 



42 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



which it presents to view — the good and evil of each separate 
life seen in the common record of the whole. It is a summing 
up of innumerable items, to enable us to conceive more impres- 
sively the gross amount. And as God is the same yesterday, 
to-day, and forever, there must be a certain degree of uniformi- 
ty in his providence and ways. "What "has been is that which 
shall be, and there is no new thing under the sun." The future 
is foreshadowed in the past. If we are anxious to know what 
will be, we may read the record written in broad characters 
upon the scroll of time. Hence there is an important indivi- 
dual applicability in the recommendation of Bildad, the friend 
of Job, as it stands in our text — " Inquire I pray thee of the 
former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers : 
shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of 
their heart ?" 

We intend on the present occasion to make a special, and to 
some extent a personal, application of these words, and shall 
not therefore spend any more time in illustrating their general 
import or in enforcing their importance. This is a Sabbath of 
peculiar interest — to me not only, but to you. It ought to have 
a voice and a power by which to speak to our hearts, so that 
they shall not need to be spoken to again. The thoughts of 
the past which it recalls and the emotions of the past which it 
prompts are almost overwhelming. It completes fifteen years 
of labor and care as the pastor of this church ; and when I think 
of it — all the weight of responsibility involved in all those years 
— the idea so burdens my spirit that I exclaim, " Who is suffi- 
cient for these things ?" and tremble to realize that it must all 
be brought into account at the judgment. May God be merci- 
ful to us for the sake of Jesus Christ ! I can see no other hope, 
and have confidence in no other name. Grace affords the only 
possible refuge. 

When Joshua had brought the tribes over Jordan and they 
actually stood within the precincts of their land of rest, he took 
twelve stones out the river, and pitched them in Gilgal, the 
place where the tribes first rested, as a pillar of memorial — " a 
/leap of witnesses" — and spake unto the children of Israel, say- 
ing, " When your children shall ask, saying, what mean these 
stones ? then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 43 

came over tins Jordan on dry land ; for the 'Lord your God 
dried up the waters of J ordan from before you, until ye were 
passed over, that all the people might know the hand of the 
Lord, that he is mighty, that ye might fear the Lord your God 
forever." 

Such a memorial of the past we mean to erect this morning ; 
not in a pillar of stones — " a heap of witnesses" — but by recall- 
ing names and awaking memories once fresh in your minds, 
and thus marking upon the tablets of your hearts, as deeply as 
affection and sentiment will enable us to do, the track of years. 
They have been more or less eventful to every one of us, and their 
passage has left traces upon our feelings, which all the friction. 
of the future, however wearing it may be, will not obliterate. 
They have brought to us many lessons which are destined to be- 
come "fixed things" in eternity, constituting the matter of 
our joy and sorrow, our weal and woe, throughout the intermi- 
nable revolution of all its ages. Fifteen years, according to 
political economists, is half a generation ; and we may there- 
fore consider ourselves to-day as standing amid the graves of 
half of those who commenced this period of time with us, and 
whom we have seen passing away under our own eyes. Here 
is indeed a great " heap of witnesses" of what the Lord has 
been doing by the instrumentality of " the king of terrors." In 
our cemetery there are more than" twelve stones," the witness- 
es of " death's doings," the frail memorials of crushed hearts 
— efforts made by affection to make the dead live in the mem- 
ories of the living. We must speak of some of them, and re- 
call their image to your thoughts. Their names have indeed 
(some of them at least) long since ceased to be heard in our 
streets ; but we may repeat them in this sanctuary, and we 
shall do it, but not without reverence. Many of them were 
"Fathers and Mothers in Israel," and the memory of their 
holy life and the testimony of their faith belongs to the church 
for her encouragement and edification. They were " pillars in 
the house of God ; " let piety and affection crown them with 
flowers and perfume them with incense, an offering of grati- 
tude appropriated to them where they stood, and where they 
still stand, " distinct in memory's eye," as prominent helpers 
and benef actors of the church. The first Sabbath of these fif- 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



teen years is renewed to-day to ray consciousness ; and I see it 
all, almost as distinctly as I saw it then. Two days before, I 
had stood beside my mother's open grave, and saw it shroud 
her venerated form forever from mortal eyes ; and when its 
morning dawned, instead of the cheerful vibration of the church- 
going bell, there was a sound of death. We met for the first 
time, not in the courts of Zion, but in a house of mourning ; 
and my first exhortation to you was, " Prepare to meet your 
God." Death had thus met me on the threshold with his 
sable pall, and he strode on before me like a giant, dealing his 
fatal blows in rapid succession, until Yeghte, Frelinghuysen. 
Yan Doren, Talmage, and Howell — all men of consecrated 
hearts, eminent for piety and influence, were no more — all gone 
before two years had elapsed. I stood appalled amid their 
graves, and anxiously inquired, " What hath not the Lord done ?" 
Hath he indeed forgotten to be gracious ? Will he draw out 
his anger to all generations ? I remember that it has been 
said, that just before the Babylonish captivity the pious and es- 
pecially the aged in Israel died in rapid succession. It is men- 
tioned as a well-known historical fact, in illustration of the lan- 
guage of Isaiah, " the righteous perisheth and no man layeth 
it to heart ; and merciful men are taken away ; none consider- 
ing that the righteous is taken awav from the evil to come." 
To the mind of the prophet the circumstance seemed so noto- 
rious, and the effect of the loss of their example and influence 
so disastrous to religion, that he says, " Run ye to and fro 
through the streets of Jerusalem, and see, and know, and seek 
in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be 
any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth." It 
seemed as if the godly had all ceased, as if all the merciful 
men were taken away, and that the nation was ready for the 
execution of delaying vengeance. " Go ye up and down her 
walls and destroy ; take away her battlements, for they are 
the Lord's," was the commission to the avengers, and the effect 
of it which followed — " abroad the sword devoureth ; at home 
there is death." 

So, in our circumstances, such a succession of bereavements 
excited many fears that heaven had in store for us some 
approaching judgment. There was more than one mind sym- 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



45 



pathizing with their feelings, and waiting with anxious solici- 
tude for the leadings of Providence. It seemed indeed as if 
some sore calamity was certainly impending over us. But in 
the result all our fears were disappointed ; the clouds in due 
time passed away, and mercy was revealed instead of judg- 
ment. 

When I recall that first Sabbath, and look around me for 
those who sat here in the house of God, I am reminded of the 
absence of many besides those already named. Yroom and 
Davis and Tunison ; Yan Arsdalen, the Bryants, Van Arsdalen ; 
Taylor, Dumont, Hardcastle, Yan !Neste, Quick, Black, and 
Ilerriot are all gone ; they have ceased from their labors, and 
been promoted from a seat in these courts below, to a place 
among the company of the redeemed who serve God in their 
white robes in the temple of glory. So faith judges, so hope 
whispers, and so imagination paints them to our view ; while 
affection stands weeping beside their graves, and rears up her 
frail monuments, inscribing upon them, " These all died in 
faith." Plow privileged ! how honored in their resting- 
place, reposing as they all do on that magnificent couch — 

" With patriarchs of the ancient world, with kings, 
The powerful of the earth — the wise, the good, 
Fair forms and hoary seers of ages past, 
All in one mighty sepulchre ! The hills 
Rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun ; the vales, 
Stretching in pensive quietness between ; 
The venerable woods ; rivers that move 
In majesty ; and complaining brooks, 
That make the meadows green : 
Old ocean's gray and melancholy waste, 
Are but the solemn decorations all 
Of the great tomb of man ! The golden sun, 
The planets, all the infinite host of heaven, 
Are shining on the sad abodes of death 
Through the still lapse of ages ! All that tread 
The globe are but a handful to the tribes 
That slumber in its bosom !" 

And, what is more comforting for us to know, for it may 
teach us how to die like them, they all " had hope in their 
death /" They passed through " the swellings of Jordan" 



46 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



" Sustained and sootlied 
By an unfaltering trust ! They neared the grave 
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." 

Xor must we omit to call to mind among that congregation 
" those mothers in Israel " whose piety consecrated the me- 
mories of the domestic fireside and hallowed all its associa- 
tions, by breathing from thence toward heaven a perpetual 
stream of incense, which warmed the fervor of Christian love 
and drew down blessings upon the church. Many of them were 
largely her benefactors, and we should be not only delinquent 
in duty, but ungrateful, did we not cherish the recollection of 
their piety and engrave their names upon her records. I see 
before me, in imagination, the Mrs. Talmage, Yeghte, White- 
nack, "Wortman, Stryker, Davis, Porter, Brokaw, Yroom, Van 
Derveer, Gaston, Van Arsdalen, Yeghte, Taylor, Rockafeller, 
Miller/ Tunison, Polhemus, Staats, Yan ISTeste, Beekman, Yan 
Derveer, Black, Jobs, Cooper, Castner, Durling, Dumont, 
Brokaw, Quick, Tunison, Hedges ! " And these too all died 
in faith " and their precious dust was in succession gathered 
to its mother, in whose faithful embrace every particle of it 
will be preserved as seed, from which will spring up in the 
morning of the resurrection so many glorified spiritual bod- 
ies to inhabit Paradise. They walked with God, serving 
him in their clay and generation, and they are not, for God 
took them, and their end was peace. They spent their last 
Sabbath of privilege here in the worship of the sanctuary ; 
sat with us the last time at the Supper of the Lord, attesting 
their hope in Christ as a Redeemer, and then, as if weary of 
sin and panting for that heaven which they kept so near in 
view and longed so much to reach, broke away from all the 
ties which bound them to earth, and soared up on high to join 
the company of the white-robed saints in glory. There the 
eye of faith has often contemplated them singing in the choir 
of the church above, and longed to be with them, exclaiming, 

" Happy songsters ! 
When shall I your chorus join?" 

Besides these, there were others who were not in the com- 
munion of the church, who gave their bodies to the dust, and 
entered the eternal state, as Campbell, Gore, Sergeant, Tunison, 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



47 



Torbert, Quick, Yan Micldlesworth, Beekman, Dolliver, and 
the Mrs. Tunison, Yroom, and Fisher — and others still, sojourn- 
ing with us for a season, as Perrine and son, Mrs. Todd and 
Mrs. Pockafeller. The whole number of deaths among the 
members of the church has been sixty-six. Sad memorial of 
the power of the destroyer ! But we have not yet called to 
mind all the trophies of the king of terrors, nor recorded the 
names of all who were once here, but are now in eternity. 
The young have died likewise — William and Martha Bryan, 
John and Edward Griffith, Elizabeth and Daniel Polhemus, 
Harriet Toms and Elizabeth Rockafeller, young Yoorhees 
and Gaston. I have laid my hand upon their fair white 
brows when they were as cold as marble, and seen them 
dressed out clean and beautiful, as if for a bridal, to be wedded 
in their early youth to the dust. All the fond love, all the 
passionate grief of parents and friends, all the bright hopes 
of future good, all the strength of their young life, could not 
restrain the inexorable archer, or shield them from his arrow ! 
His bow was bent, and the fatal shaft, true to its aim, sped, 
and they lay prostrate in the dust. &ll that was left for 
friendship and sympathy was to shed tears over their clay, 
and carry them to their rest among the cold sleepers of the 
cemetery. Monuments have perpetuated their names, but 
their voices are silent. Pale flowers have been planted around 
their graves, and watered with many tears; but the flowers 
will fade as they did, and drop their withered petals on their 
graves. We have often mused over these signs of affection, 
and felt the eloquence with which they spoke, when the leaves 
of summer, touched by an early frost, lay scattered thickly in 
the forest. The poet was interpreter to our thoughts : 

" Thou lovely earth ! Since kindred steps 

From tliy green paths have fled, 
A dimness and a hush have fallen 

O'er all thy beauties spread ! 
The silence of the absent soul 

Is on me and around ! 
My heart hath echoes but for thee, 

Thou still small warning sound ! 
The sky-lark sings out as he sang 

When they were by my side ; 
And mournful tones are in the wind 

Unheard before they died !" 



48 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



And yet there are more claiming a record in this sad memo- 
rial. Those " blossoms of being born and gone," which the 
universal mother of all the living hath gathered back to her 
cold bosom — " the early lost," as nature regards them, but 
"the early saved," as the visions of our scripture faith teach 
us to esteem them, when in her holy records she points us to 
the Saviour's words, " Suffer the little children to come unto 
me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God." 
There are many, very many short graves in yonder cemetery, 
and I never look upon them but I think how loving and faith- 
ful the Saviour is to his people, in taking so many of their 
"little ones" to himself, and garnering them in heaven before 
sin could have power to pollute them, or the world ensnare 
their feet in its' slippery paths. We ought to thank him for 
every one which he claims and takes home. There are so 
many things to be dreaded, that the very tears which affection 
sheds when she enshrouds them ought to be accompanied with 
a consenting heart, and our loudest grief should be taught to 
say, " He hath done all things well." Our loss is their gain. 
There are so many shipwrecks on the ocean of human life, 
that it ought to be regarded more as a matter of congratula- 
tion than of regret, to see one of these frail vessels launched 
upon its surging waves, reaching early and safely the haven of 
eternal rest. " Grod has made every thing beautiful in its sea- 
son." How is it that we fail so much to discern the "beauty" 
of his providence and love in gathering the buds and opening 
flowers of humanity into his own garner, before they have 
here had time to wither and the blight to touch them % I can 
not be faith ; it is only nature that impels these gushing 
tears. We must teach nature to chasten her strong yearnings 
by the power of faith's revealings, and become willing to thank 
God if we have children in heaven. We must learn to gaze 
upward and "stretch our sight," until we see them in their 
white robes among "the shining ones" in glory; and then, 
coming back to our cares and toils, think how much happier 
they are in having escaped them all. We must make our love 
to them a living power to elevate us above the influence of 
our nature and our sin, and strengthen us until we are victors 
in the conflict, and have permission to come away and join 



MEMOKIAL SEEMONS. 



49 



them where we sliall part no more. It is a divine hope, in- 
deed, to think of meeting our loved ones in glory. It seems 
to make heaven nearer and dearer to us. We realize -its exist- 
ence as we could not do but from the fact that it is the home 
and resting-place of those we love. They have not ceased to 
be, because God has taken them ; they are only veiled from 
our sight ; death reached but the mortal part, and brought the 
material form to the dust — the soul is with God. The blos- 
som which withered here upon its stalk in the spring of its 
beauty has been transplanted there in a place of endurance, 
and will expand in perfection and diffuse its fragrance eternal- 
ly, to gladden and refresh that spirit which now weeps out an 
affection that has been sorely bruised. Oh! that our faith 
could see this when we mourn the loss of departed ones. It 
would assist us to say, 

" There, like a dew-drop shrined 

Witliin a crystal stone, 
Thou art safe in heaven, my dove ! 
Safe with the source of love, 

The everlasting One. 
And when the hour arrives 

From flesh to set me free, 
Thy spirit will await, 
The first at heaven's gate, 

To meet and welcome me." 

II. There have also been many changes besides those result- 
ing from death. Since the small beginnings of 1699, through 
a period of one hundred and forty-eight years, this church has 
not only experienced a variety of fortune and favor, but as the 
effect of all, by the blessing of God, it has waxed strong and 
become numerous. In thinking of those clays in comparison with 
the present, we may appropriate the words of Jacob, "With 
my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two 
bands." It was natural that the propriety of a division should, 
at the time it was made, be strongly doubted even by the 
wisest. The end of it could not be foreseen — its effect upon 
time-honored associations was feared : and perhaps we lacked 
faith in the promise of God, which is as true of the church as 
it is of an individual — " I will never leave thee nor forsake 
thee." The parting hour was therefore an hour of sorrow. 



50 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



We felt that we had reason to be sad. But at the present 
time doubt is at an end, and even fear is removed. There is 
no one "who does not consider it a blessing, and is not prepared 
heartily to pray, " Send now, O Lord, prosperity, I beseech 
thee." The interests of religion generally, and of our own 
denomination especially, have been materially strengthened in 
this community as the effect of it. Our neighbors have been 
blessed abundantly, and from a mere handful grown up to be 
a respectable church ; while at the same time our own numbers 
have gone on increasing in a progressive ratio, equal at least 
to what it was before, perhaps greater. So confident do both 
these "bands" now feel in their strength, that they have re- 
cently united in the erection of a commodious and beautiful 
house of worship, which they intend to make the nucleus of a 
" Third Church ;" and our prospects will need to be very sud- 
denly beclouded, if such an organization is not actually effect- 
ed before another year elapses. Fifteen years since, when my 
ministry commenced here, the communion of the church con- 
sisted of three hundred and forty-seven members; at the pres- 
ent time there are the names of f our hundred and seven record- 
ed on our boohs. During this time there have been received 
in all three hundred and fifty- one. If there had been no 
deaths or removals, our communion would at the present time 
have been six hundred and ninety-eight ; but on account of 
them, the actual increase has only been sixty. What a change 
this fact makes necessary ! It is almost equal to an entire re- 
newal of the whole congregation, in the space of fifteen years. 
The difference, however, is not in fact so much ; for on looking 
around me I recognize here to-day many familiar faces — fami- 
liar during the whole time that I have ministered where I now 
do. They have been here constantly when the tribes went 
up, even the tribes of the Lord, to worship in his sanctuary. 
Many of those who came to us have remained but a little 
while ; but the great body of the church has been permanent, 
and the larger number of changes has been confined to the 
fluctuating and the transient. Except where death has come 
in to perforin his work, few have left us. 

Fifteen years of Sabbaths ! Seven hundred and eighty days 
in which we have sat together in God's holy house and heard 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



51 



his Gospel ! It is a long time. It embraces a vast amount of 
privilege. You have probably heard in that time fifteen hun- 
dred and sixty sermons. It has brought you acquainted with 
a vast amount of instruction, and it involves deep responsi- 
bilities. So much opportunity of learning Christ ought to 
have enriched your minds with a wide range of gospel truth 
and a rich experience of its power and sanctification. Paul 
speaks of Andronicus and Junia as being of note among the 
Christians at Rome, because "they were in Christ before 
him as if their age and experience gave them a special claim 
to attention and consideration. And ought it not to do so ? 
Is it not a special privilege to have been in Christ early ? to 
have been long in his school? Yes, indeed, age is a blessing. 
A long life is a privilege, especially when its years have been 
spent in the acquisition of knowledge and in the service of 
Grod. It has a richness in experience, a maturity of under- 
standing, a sobriety of judgment, a settled conviction of truth, 
and a wisdom in discerning what is real from what is mere 
semblance, the effect of transient feelings and not of spiritual 
influence and grace, which renders it always safe to walk by 
its counsels when difficulties oppose or dangers are imminent. 
It may not display the fervor of youth nor manifest the ardor 
of its untried affections,, it may sometimes be even too cau- 
tious and sluggish ; but then it will have the advantage of 
having fewer mistakes to correct and less frequent occasion to 
repent and turn back. That, however, which constitutes its 
highest good is the opportunity which it affords of doing so 
much for religion, bearing so much fruit for Christ and pro- 
moting the interests of righteousness so long — ■" laying up," in 
the words of the Saviour, " a treasure ia heaven with the 
mammon of unrighteousness." "With such an end in view, a 
Christian may well rejoice in a long life. 

But when avarice, the vice of old age, is allowed to grow 
and canker in the heart, and the veteran of years lives only to 
hoard his treasures — when no heavenly light shines upon its 
declining course and no religious topics sanctify the end of its 
days, the sight of it saddens and distresses us. We can not hide 
from ourselves the conviction that the rust of that unemployed 
gold, accumulating year by year, will be a terrible witness 



52 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



against those white locks as an unprofitable steward, and we 
confess it would have been a blessing not to have lived so long. 
Among us there are but a few of the old disciples remaining, 
and this makes that small number who have been our friends 
from the beginning more endeared. We can not therefore re- 
frain from uttering one specific petition for them : may they 
live long to adorn the religion they profess, and then, when 
all their work is done, sleep peacefully in the bosom of that 
Saviour whom they have loved and served. Our sentiment for 
them to-day is — a long life of piety and a sweet rest in glory. 
May they enjoy both ! 

In noticing the changes of fifteen years, what is most admo- 
nitory and impressive is, that death has been more busy among 
the aged than the young. . This is not ordinary. The spoiler 
generally delights in " a shining mark." His most numerous 
victims are the beautiful and the young. His mansions are 
filled with lovely forms, and his favorite work is to destroy 
bright hopes. But such has not been his course among us ; 
the hoary head, and the form bending under a weight of years, 
have more frequently been taken to rest than " the strong 
staff has been broken and the beautiful rod." So great has the 
mortality among the aged been, that only a few of the old pa- 
triarchs, once the strength of the church, remain. This has 
subjected us to a sore trial. We feel their loss deeply ; their 
influence touched the cause of truth and righteousness in this 
community in many important points ; and what is still more 
to be lamented is, that in some instances they have left no re- 
presentatives on whom their mantle could fall. The promise 
leads us to hope that " in the place of the fathers there shall be 
their children," but in these cases the promise yet seems to 
fail. May God work it out in his own time and way, for he 
is able to do it, even though it should be necessary out of "the 
stones to raise up children unto Abraham" ! 

In this way the wealth which once was ours now seeks other 
channels, and the influence which aided us is neutralized or 
turned against us. We however do not mean this as a complaint. 
With all our losses we are strong — increasing in strength in 
many ways. What we need most is a higher tone, a wider range 
of piety, and a greater abounding of our liberality. Deadness 



MEMORIAL SERMON'S. 



53 



to the world and an earnest anxiety to do something for the 
glory of God would be a perfect remedy for all that we regret. 
With a mind to work, we should find it easy to meet every re- 
quisition which the church imposes. The want of it has made 
us groan, when we ought to have been singing songs of thanks- 
giving and joy. 

III. But all has not been change. Amid all that we have 
mourned as we have seen it passing away, there is one thing 
over the permanency of which Ave could drop a tear, a bitter 
tear. It is the fixed, the unchanging, the unyielding impeni- 
tence of some of our people. We can not conceal it from our- 
selves that there are some yet out of Christ who were here fif- 
teen years ago, and were then impenitent. They were halting 
between two opinions then, and they are yet in the same posi- 
tion ; they were almost Christians then, and they are only al- 
most Christians now. Then they were waiting for better 
evidence, and now they are waiting for better evidence ; and 
how much longer will they wait ? Fifteen years of Sab- 
baths, and strivings of the Spirit, and admonitions of Provi- 
dence ! Is it not enough ? How wonderful that heaven 
should be so patient ! Where is there another friend that 
would consent to stand so long and solicit a place in our 
hearts ? What love, other than the everlasting and the un- 
speakable love of Jesus Christ, is so enduring — so inexhausti- 
ble, long-suffering, and unabating ! The best friend would 
have forsaken us, and, in despair for so much hardness, given 
us over to ruin ; but the faithful, loving Spirit conies again and 
again ; the tender, compassionate Redeemer renews his solici- 
tations year after year, unwilling that any sinner, even though 
he be an hundred years old, should perish while he stands on 
" mercy's ground," and death and a fixed eternity have not 
made his state irreversible ! It is wonderful to think of it. It 
gives us a most solemn view of the obstinate infatuation of im- 
penitence— a living picture of the apostle's words, " The natu- 
ral man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; for they 
are foolishness unto him ; neither can he know them, because 
they are spiritually discerned." It is a mournful proof of the 
prophet's words, " The heart of man is deceitful above all things 
and desperately wicked ; who can know it ?" What must the 

4 



/ 



54 MEMORIAL SERMONS. 

moral state of such individuals be ? To what can we compare 
their hearts? Are they not akin to those eternal icebergs 
which surround the "pole" — congealed at the beginning of 
creation, when God first spake the earth into being, and never 
giving forth a drop since, but remaining always sharp and 
hard and fixed in their forbidding impenetrability, and des- 
tined to remain so, until the coming eternity shall have passed ? 
Or like those seas of ice on the Alpine heights, glittering in 
the beams of the sun and in perfect defiance of their power, 
sending back his rays from their adamantine surface, ever 
since the day when the power of Omnipotence upheaved them 
from the solid crust of the earth and fixed them on their ever- 
lasting foundations — -emblems of hardened impenitence % It 
is a sad state to be in ; the thought of it is enough to move 
any mind to tears ! Fifteen years of impenetrable obduracy 
to all the invitations of the Gospel, all the solicitations of 
God's most gracious Spirit, all the warnings of Providence, 
and all the admonitions of the dying ! Oh ! it is too much to 
think of. Has heaven done so much for us in vain ? Have 
we lived so long, and only lived to heap up wrath and indig- 
nation against the revelation of God's righteous judgment ? 
lived so long only to make our death-bed more cheerless, and 
our eternity a more intolerable depth of woe ? 

To return again to our text : is there nothing in the former 
age, in the experience of the fathers, that may teach you ? Is 
their experience of no advantage to guide you ? Is your own 
without instruction ? What profit have you had from all the 
worldly things which you have pursued ? Have they compen- 
sated you for that neglect of your souls which they have in- 
duced? Is a life of irreligion, in fact, an advantage % We are 
willing to leave the question with your own judgment and con- 
science. Does it bring you an increase of happiness ? Does 
it enable you to drink from the cup of life a sweeter draught ? 
Does it make your social joys more exhilarating and your sor- 
rows less oppressive ? What is your answer ? If you are si- 
lent and ashamed to speak, or if you have not marked any 
definite results of experience, we can answer for you. It has 
done none of these things ; and you ought to have known, be- 
fore you adopted such a course, that it could not do any of these 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



55 



tilings. But should you unfortunately doubt and be disposed 
to try it further, or should you be in search of information, 
we commend to you the recommendation in our text," Inquire, 
I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the 
search of their fathers : shall not they teach thee, and tell 
thee, and utter words out of their heart ?" " Can the rush 
grow up without mire ? Can the flag grow without water ? 
While it is yet in its greenness and not cut down, it withereth 
before any other herb ; so are the paths of all that forget 
God f And the hypocrite's hope shall perish ! His hope shall 
be cut off, and his trust shall be a spider's web ; and the dwell- 
ing-place of the wicked shall come to naught ! Have ye not 
ashed them which go by the way ? and do ye not know their 
tokens, that the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction % 
They shall be brought forth to the day of wrath : and the 
sinner, even though he be an hundred years old, shall be ac- 
cursed." 

Is this the testimony of experience ? Does the voice of the 
past age and of the fathers speak in this wise ? Then you are 
condemned as one that is living unwisely and running in the 
face of evil. It is, in fact, one of the most singular phenomena 
of human reason that impenitent men should read these denun- 
ciations in the Bible, acknowledge them to be from God and 
to be expressions of his determinations in regard to sin, and 
yet live on in their rebellion. It amounts to this : that rea- 
sonable beings are capable of acting very unreasonably, even 
where the most important interests are at stake ; and, if any 
thing can do so, proves most conclusively that the difficulty 
with the impenitent man is not in his reason but in his heart : 
and if you mean to change him, it is to be done, not by argu- 
ment, but moral influence. It is not because there is any want 
of evidence in religion, but because they are opposed to it, and 
therefore unwilling to be convinced by evidence or to listen to 
the voice of reason, that most men continue in sin. This is the 
testimony of Scripture : "the heart is deceitful above all things 
and desperately wicked," and will not of itself come to God. 
This is the best explanation ever given of impenitence — the 
only one that reaches all the facts of the case. But do you not 
perceive that this only makes your condition more hopeless \ 



56 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



Such a heart can not be happy without God, and it is unfitted 
for enjoyment with him. It is therefore morally disqualified 
for heaven. Holy enjoyments in its sensual state are a contra- 
diction ; the supposition that it can feel them is an absurdity ; 
it must be changed ; conversion or destruction is the only 
alternative. And so we conclude fifteen years of expostulation 
with you, and begin another. When will your hearts be able 
to realize its privileges or turn cordially to its duties ? 

Apjolication. — It would seem as if one end, at least, of the 
various changes of human life was to instruct men. Attention 
to them will teach us wisdom. They are a mirror in which 
we may see the image of the future ; and if we arrive at a 
proper understanding of their character, it will tend to prepare 
us to meet what is to come, if it does not enable us to avoid all 
the evils it brings with it. Surpri sals find us unguarded. An 
unexperienced evil is greater on that account. Even death 
becomes familiar by seeing it often. How much instruction, as 
to the transitory nature of all earthly things, the changes of the 
past bring ! We have loved, but where are the loved ones 
now ? We have toiled for treasures and built garners for our 
hopes, but they have all faded like a frost-bitten flower. Some 
of you stand alone who once had companions to assist you in 
bearing your burdens and share with you the sufferings of your 
mortal state ; others have carried their children to the nar- 
row house appointed for all the living. All feel that the pas- 
sage of years has wasted many things which they regarded as 
jewels of the heart ! Learn, then, not to set your affections on 
things upon the earth, but to lay your treasure up with God. 
" They build too low, who build on aught beneath the skies."' 
Heaven alone is pure, unchanging, and never fades away ! 

It would seem as if the past was intended to encourage us. ' 
In the midst ot all the changes, losses, and disappointments 
which it brings, there are things that remain unchanged and 
■can not be lost. God is our Father still. In Christ we have 
an undiminished portion of peace, enjoyment, and hope. 
Heaven yet invites us, and waits with wide-expanded doors to 
receive us into its mansions of rest. With God, and Christ, 
and heaven, have we not enough ? Let us thank God, then, 
and take courage. 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



It would seem as if the past also admonished us. Is it gone ( 
Has it been wasted ? Does the thought of it bring regrets 2 
Let the time past of our lives suffice us to have wrought the 
will of the flesh ; henceforth let us live soberly, and righteous- 
ly, and godly. Unprofitableness ought to induce repentance, 
and repentance wisdom, zeal, and diligence. The time is short : 
the work is great. We have no more davs that we can afford 
to lose. Another may be the last ; and to lose it may be to in- 
cur the loss of all things. Mav God make us wise and success- 
ful in working out our salvation while it is called to-day ! 



THE FOURTH MEMORIAL SERMON'. 



Peeached Oct. 31st, 1852. 

AN IMPEOVEMENT OF THE PAST. 

" I will remember tlie years of the right liand of the Most High." — Psalms 
77: 10. 

The Psalmist is recording a struggle which he had in his 
mind with unbelief. He sought the Lord in his trouble ; his 
sore ran in the night and ceased not ; his soul refused to be 
comforted. All around him was gloom and discouragement ; 
but when he communed with his own heart, he found strength 
and hope. He advanced in his inquiries, he made diligent 
search, and said, "Will the Lord cast off forever? "Will ho 
be favorable no more ? Is his mercy clean gone forever ? 
Doth his promise fail for evermore ? Hath God forgotten to 
be gracious ? Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies V 
No, this is " an infirmity;" to believe so is sin. It is in fact 
a denial of all God's care and kindness as they are shown in 
his providence ; because the obvious and necessary inference 
from the past is, that he is "long-suffering and abundant in 
mercy, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin." It is, there- 
fore, instructive and important to "remember the years of the 
right hand of the Most High." 

God's " right hand " is the emblem of his power — " the years 
of his right hand " are therefore those years in which any event 
of providence displaying God's power has occurred; and "re- 
membering" them, is not only impressing their recollection on 
the mind, but making a memorial of them for the purpose of 
instruction and encouragement ; and our text is a scriptural 
warrant and example for us to do so. Perhaps we ought to do 
it more frequently than we have been accustomed. 

To-day it is twenty years since I assumed the responsible 
charge of the pastorate in this congregation, and it has seemed 



MEMORIAL SERMOXS. 



59 



to me to be necessary to make a memorial of it — to erect an 
Ebenezer here, and remember the years of the right hand of 
the Most High. 

The text suggests our method. "We shall group together 
some of the occurrences of this period with a view to our en- 
couragement and improvement in faith and piety. 

Twenty years is almost one third of the period allotted to 
man. It is a c * score," and he has but " threescore and ten." 
When they are numbered, his strength is gone, his sight 
dimmed, his head bowed and blanched, and his tottering steps 
admonish him of the grave. One third of a life is no small 
thing to give to any cause or any object. To have given it, 
supposes an obligation as to the effect of its devotion of no 
small magnitude. I came herein comparative youth and inex- 
perience. I had indeed but little, besides an honest purpose to 
be useful, and some fortitude and courage in following the 
opening path, to bring here and devote to you, as a return for 
the confidence which you expressed in calling me. I came, 
however, " as soon as I was sent for," and at the close of a score of 
years, can only adopt the language of an apostle and say, " I 
have been with you in weakness and fear, and much trembling, 
and my speech and my preaching has not been with enticing 
words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit 
and of power.'' If any thing has been effected, the glory is 
the Lord's. His spirit has given strength to weakness, made 
the foolish wise, and pulled down the strongholds of the enemy 
in the heart. Without feigning humility, we own his hand in 
all, and render praise to his name. His goodness has been far 
greater than our deserts, and his mercies have exceeded in 
number the most sanguine expectations we have ever felt it 
right to cherish. 

Twenty years ! Will you go back with me in memory to 
that Sabbath morning — some of you can do it ; and let us first 
mark the things as they were, and then the changes that have 
been induced. You remember the old walls and seats — they 
were narrower than they are now, they were plainer, they 
were less comfortable, they were not worthy of you as a people, 
they did not indicate either your respect for God or your zeal 
n his service ; and they were soon made to give place to others. 



00 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



You remember how we praised tliem for the good they had 
done, and then bade them farewell with tears, as we would 
have done " old friends." They had been witnesses of many 
solemn hours, and were copiously baptized with the Holy 
Spirit. God has never wrought for himself and for your souls 
in this house as he did in that. Three hundred and sixty-eight 
as the fruit of one outpouring of the Spirit ! It was like Pen- 
tecost. And some of you are yet here who enjoyed it, to weep 
over it, rejoice in it, and pray to have it repeated. May God 
in his mercy hear those prayers ! 

Ah! the recollection of that morning comes up in my 
memory as fresh as if it were only yesterday. I can recall dis- 
tinctly many faces whom I shall see no more ; the warm pres- 
sure of many hands, and some tears, (were they of joy ?) 
which fell there. I recollect the text and the sermon ; and I 
remember a pledge which I gave you. I have sometimes 
almost thought the time would come for me to redeem it, but 
not quite. It was something like this : " If the time ever 
comes that I shall cease to have the prayers and cooperation 
of Christians here, that day will be the last to see me in this 
pulpit." I hold it good yet to-day; and will be as ready to re- 
deem it at any future time, as I have been always in the past. 
I will not for a slight cause break the ties which bind us ; but 
I would not remain a day, if I thought that I had lost your, 
regard and your prayers ; if there was even a respectable mi- 
nority cherishing such feelings. 

But when I bring that first Sabbath in connection with to- 
day, and mark the changes, it almost appalls me. Among the 
dead since, I reckon some of the best, the kindest, the truest 
friends I have ever had, or ever expect to have in this world. 
Some of them were great men in their day, and they stood in 
this sanctuary like pillars with wreathed capitals for ornament 
and for strength. They were " good men and full of the Holy 
Ghost ;" or they were " mothers in Israel " like Jael, Deborah, 
and Abigail. Women who knew how to pray, and who knew 
how to act. They had hearts and hands both. We might re- 
cite their names, but they do not need any eulogium. Their 
memorial is in heaven, and there they are reaping their reward. 
Happy if we can make sure of the same rest, by imitating 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



61 



their patience and their faith. Let ns strive as they did to 
enter in at the strait gate. 

On that morning, there was but one place in which to wor- 
ship God in this village, and even within miles of it. Then 
the whole strength of Christian influence and example centred 
in one point ; and from this pulpit went forth the only warning 
to a sin-enthralled world. How thej r have multiplied ! How 
various too the denominations, where all were one ! In the 
midst of the present variety, it is at least to be hoped that all 
may be pleased and profited. May it appear in the end that in 
the diversity of gifts there is one spirit. May that spirit be 
Christ's ; and may the work of Christ's grace be promoted. 

There is but one " church redeemed with blood," and but 
one " company of the saints around the throne ;" but some do 
•not seem to think so, and seem to hope in a change of forms 
and creeds to find an easier way to heaven. What chance of 
success they have it is easy to determine. 

The whole number of professing Christians in this church at 
the time of my settlement (and it was the whole number in the 
community) was about three hundred and fifty. Our two 
churches now contain about nine hundred. This one fact is 
sufficient to show what an extension of visible Christianity, 
at least, there has been as the effect of the means of 
grace ; and proves conclusively the necessity of more 
churches, if not of so many denominational divisions. The 
strength of no one man conld have proved adequate to the 
labor connected with their instruction and edification; and 
every Christian will rejoice that they have found in other com- 
munions what they could not have enjoyed so fully in ours, 
and will pray that they may be " built up in faith and good 
works," and " sanctified for heaven." 

To the original number of three hundred and fifty, there has 
been added since, four hundred and thirty-five — of which two 
hundred and fifty-three have made a confession of faith, and 
one hundred and eighty-two have been received on certificate. 
The largest number added at any one communion is forty- 
one — in the autumn of 1837 — and during the whole period 
there has been but one communion season when none were re- 
ceived on confession— and on that occasion two were added by 



62 



MEMORIAL SERMON'S. 



certificate. There lias been only a single communion season 
when but one came forward to testify of the grace of God in 
its regenerating power. The highest number received in a sin- 
gle year is sixty- three, and the smallest is four • which occurred 
in lS3i, when the congregation was divided by the organiza- 
tion of the second church ; and during Which year, in conse- 
quence of being without a convenient place of worship, con- 
lined to the old lecture room, there was but one communion 
season observed by the church. 

Of the three hundred and fifty in the communion of the 
church at the time of my settlement, there are now only about 
fifty remaining in actual attendance on the spiritual ordinan- 
ces. All the others have either departed this life, or removed to 
other places. Such has been the effect of the lapse of time, 
and so rapid the changes which it has produced. Can you. 
wonder that I feel this morning almost as if I were standing in 
the midst of another generation and ministering to another peo- 
ple ? The circumstance originates mingled emotions in my bo- 
som. It brings to my heart the memory of past joys, sweet and 
pleasant to the soul. "With many who are gone I had formed 
pleasant associations, and often walked with them to the 
house of God. With others friendships were only commenced, 
destined to endure but for a little while and then pass away 
like those gleams of sunshine which break from a clouded 
sky. The recollection of the pleasure is saddened by regret 
for the lost. I see in it a picture of human life, with its 
transitory joys, its fading hopes, its failing promises. It is at 
best but a journey in which we become acquainted with 
various passengers, and then at its different stages part with 
them again, each one to pursue his own course and seek after 
his own interests. It is a troubled sea, navigated with a frail 
vessel, from which one and another is continually falling, to 
disappear forever beneath the foaming waves. We -inquire 
for them, but the answer is, They are gone. Gone ! Ah, 
where ? Gone many of them to a long eternity. They shall 
not return to us, but we must go to them. Oh ! if we can 
only meet them on the happy shores of immortality. There, 
there will be no partings nor farewells, but associations such 



MEMORIAL SERMOXS. 



63 



as spirits form with spirits, and enjoyments such as flow from 
that higher life the full glory of which they taste ! 

But all is not sadness, that this memory of the past, as it 
mingles itself with the present, produces. In place of the 
fathers here are the children. Individuals and families have 
happily perpetuated themselves, in many instances, in the 
communion and support of the church ; and the sad remem- 
brance of the departed mingles itself with the joy fid recog- 
nition of those who remain. Ties in many instances have 
been severed with the one, only to be re-formed more pleas- 
antly and hopefully with the others. It has in this way been 
our privilege to see the covenant of God faithfully perpetuated 
and its blessings descending from fathers to sons, and from 
mothers to daughters, to become a witness to the truth of the 
promise, " to you, and to your children, and to them that are 
afar off — even as many as the Lord our God shall call and 
many a dying patriarch has been comforted concerning the 
church and the altars of his God, by the reflection that the 
place which he left vacant in his holy house would be filled 
after his departure by one brought up upon his knees, and his 
falling mantle, like Elijah's, come upon the shoulders of some 
Elisha to carry on and complete the work which he com- 
menced. Nor is the fact without its interest in this point of 
view — that notwithstanding all the changes, there are so many 
of ihefast and tried friends of the church who have perpetua- 
ted themselves in its communion in their children. It ought 
to be so. The place where our fathers worshipped is rendered 
more sacred to us by that association. Is it not pleasant to 
think, and does it not add to the impressiveness of our worship, 
that these very walls which witnessed their joy and heard 
their prayers, witness ours % Does it not make the scene 
more holy to us to reflect that at this very communion table 
they also, who are now in heaven, sat down and were fed with 
living bread ? Can we ever consent to wander from these 
sacred ways where they found so much peace, and were so 
effectually sanctified for the enjoyment of everlasting bliss ? 

The whole number reported as having been dismissed in 
good standing, and at their own request to become connected 
with other churches, is one hundred and sixty-two. Of this 



64 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



number fifty-six went into the second "church, either at the 
time of its organization or immediately afterward ; and at 
least thirty more have been separated from us for the purpose 
of effecting the organization of the different churches built up 
i around us. The whole number is not large ; and the interest 
in these statistics is in the fact, that they so clearly demon- 
strate a warm feeling of attachment on the part of our mem- 
bers to their own communion. It is not a small thing that 
detaches from us any one who has once thrown in his lot here. 
The members of this church have not been given to change. 
The majority of them at least, certainly, have never been 
troubled with itching ears. The force of circumstances alone 
has taken those from us who have come to ask for dismissions. 
There is hardly an instance where dissatisfaction with the 
church or the pastor has been the moving cause of a separation. 
May it always be so. Such bonds ought not to be easily or 
rudely sundered. Passion certainly should never furnish the 
motive ; and it is no commendation to any Christian to have 
been given to change, or to have belonged to many churches. 
He is seldom benefited by it ; and more seldom still better 
satisfied after the changes have been made. 

In twenty years, only sixty-three communicants are report- 
ed as having died. This number is unquestionably lower than 
the reality, but there are no means of correcting it, and we 
are therefore obliged to take it. It is to be accounted for in 
two ways. The deaths have not always been all reported, and 
some have died elsewhere, but not called for their dismission 
previously, so that we have had no means of ascertaining it 
until it was forgotten. In this way it becomes necessary 
every few years to correct the lists of communicants in order 
to preserve accuracy in numbers. 

The number, however, is sufficient to originate many solemn 
reflections. In some instances, whole families are gone ; in 
others, there are one or two left ; while in others still, the 
" strong staff was broken and the beautiful rod ;" and yet in 
others, " the desire of eyes" has been " taken away with a 
stroke." The place of the dead has had to be enlarged, from 
the multitude crowding into it. In all these scenes, so mournful 
and moving, I have shared a part — into these habitations, filled 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



65 



with lamentation and wo, carried the consolations of Christ's 
"blessed Gospel, the balm of wounded hearts. Some of these 
scenes can never be effaced from my memory. They will live 
in vivid impressions among its records of the past, as long as 
consciousness remains. I count them jewels of the heart, and 
hope to derive from them a chastening power and a sanctify- 
ing influence ever while I live. I would not forget them if I 
could. I should regard the wish to do so as traitorous to 
myself, and a dereliction of a most sacred duty. But not- 
withstanding all our losses and all the changes ffoinsj on 
around us, we have been able to preserve and gradually to 
increase our strength — at least in numbers. The communion 
has at times exceeded four hundred ; but this year it falls a 
little short of it. One thing; ou^ht to be remarked as an en- 

CD O 

couragement — no more church organizations seem to be called 
for, and the increase of population will therefore, in a very 
short time, even with an ordinary blessing, restore all our 
wastes and close up all our breaches. Only the fathers who 
are gone can not return to us ; and yet God, who has power 
to raise up children unto Abraham out of the stones, may 
give us those who will be mightier in prayer, and faith, and 
good works than they were, to fill their places. It is a pleasing 
hope that it will be so ; let us indulge it. 

From this view of the changes we pass naturally to the 
labors of the past twenty years. In speaking of them, I feel 
it necessary to estimate them as Paul did his at Corinth, as 
being performed " in weakness and in much fear and to 
avow that I am sensible of very many imperfections — probably 
more than any of you have ever observed. In preaching I 
have not studied to please men, but to speak " in demonstra- 
tion of the spirit and of power, that your faith should not 
stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." No 
one can form a lower estimate of the quality of my services 
than I do ; and a review of them gives occasion at least for 
humiliation if not for self-reproach. All I can say is this : 
I have done what I could ; I have not sought yours but you ; 
I have endeavored more to edify and instruct than to seek your 
applause ; I have not kept back the counsel of God, but by 
alarming the sinner and attracting the self-righteous, sought to 



6*6 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



draw them to Christ and humble them at the foot of the cross. 
If some have occasionally felt that I was too earnest, and search- 
ing, and exclusive in preaching a salvation only through grace 
and not by works, my answer is, that it is " so that I have learned 
Christ,'' I know of no other trust or foundation to rest upon 
" than Christ in you the hope of glory ;" and knowing of no 
other, I can not preach any other to the lost and ruined. For 
me to do so, would be to invent another Gospel ; and this I 
would not do to gain the undivided applause of the whole 
world. I have yet to learn how the cross can be preached 
and the offense of it avoided. I do not wonder, therefore, that 
some have been found who could not endure such a cross, and 
have sought relief either by absence, or by adopting other 
denominational distinctions and another theology ; or else 
forming other connections in the hope of being better pleased. 
For their satisfaction I now say, that it was always my aim 
to push them to such extremities as to force them to become 
Christians or to do something else. I know of no condition 
more pregnant with evil, than the state of a self-satisfied, un- 
godly man, and I have therefore labored to make all such 
men entirely dissatisfied with themselves. My study has been 
to knock from under them in succession every prop they were 
leaning upon. I know of no Gospel which will make an un- 
renewed man satisfied with himself, and I have never preached 
with such an aim — those who do are welcome to their success. 
I might have daubed with untempered mortar, and been lauded 
to the skies. I could not purchase their smiles or their support 
at the price demanded for them, and experience therefore no 
disappointment in the result, May they be happier and holier 
where they are ! In a very few instances, we might say, " I 
marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called 
you in the Gospel." 

In twenty years I have preached not far from two thousand 
sermons to my people ; one half of which have been written 
every word with this right hand. I say nothing of the toil 
and thought which have been required to perform such an 
amount of labor, because it has been a pleasure to me. I have 
loved this kind of employment, and been cheerful and happy 
under it. My estimate of what is the duty of a minister of 



MEMORIAL SERMOX3. 



07 



Christ's word lias been such as to make this course necessary. 
I could have preached with far less study — perhaps with equal, 
if not greater acceptance, by preaching without the labor 
of composing ; but I have never dared to utter crude thoughts 
and " words without knowledge/' or to bring husks to those 
who were hungering for the bread of life. At the conclusion 
of such a protracted course, I am ready to avow my convic- 
tions of it being the best ; and, therefore, if it was again to be 
undertaken, I would not change my practice, at least in this 
respect. 

Besides sermons, I have preached some five hundred weekly 
lectures. In these I have studied freedom from logical order 
and restraint — endeavoring to bring in as wide a range of sub- 
jects and remark as was consistent with attention to the mind 
of Christ, The substance of many of these has been repeated 
more than once ; but the words, rising to my mind as the oc- 
casion and circumstances prompted, could never be recalled. 
In this way, even though the text were the same, it has often 
happened that almost an entirely new discourse has been 
called fort. Indeed, in all cases the natural variation pre- 
vented sameness. 

I have kept no account of the number of funeral sermons and 
catechetical lectures, and therefore can not estimate them except 
in general terms. They must, however, have amounted to five 
hundred or more. So that during the course of my ministry 
among you, I have at least on three thousand different occa- 
sions commended the Lord Jesus Christ to your regard, and 
urged you to accept of his mercy. 

There have been in all this time five hundred and sixty-four 
children admitted to the ordinance of baptism — and thirty- 
three adults on confession of their faith — making in all five 
hundred and ninety -seven baptisms. There have also been two 
hundred and twelve marriages, at which we have been present 
and officiated in confirming the sacred union. In these vari- 
ous services, joy and sorrow have often been brought in close 
proximity ; and I have been called even from the grave of my 
father to the festive circle to mingle in the joy of the marriage 
supper. Human life is in many respects a strange scene, verg- 
ing rapidly from one extreme to another ; but how much stran- 



68 



MEMORIAL SERMONS, 



ger is the life of a minister of the Gospel ! lie is often called 
from the house of mourning to the house of feasting. He sees 
life in all its various phases, from high to low — from the grave 
and solemn and serene to the extremes of joy and sorrow. He 
is present with all as a friend, a counselor, a helper ; and 
seems to be equally necessary to each one. To enable him to 
meet all the calls thus made upon him, he needs an iron frame 
and untiring perseverance : nerves capable of enduring the 
pressure of the most various circumstances ; the purity and 
love of an angel mingled with the prudence of the most perfect 
wisdom ; and yet all these high qualities and gifts would not 
suffice to save him from becoming the occasion of offense to 
some, falling under the reproach of others, and doing acts of 
kindness to many, from whom he receives no acknowledgment 
or gratitude. It is not a soft pillow upon which a minister lays 
his head, and if he makes his calculations of finding ease and 
pleasure, there is no one man more certain of being disap- 
pointed. 

Xor have the vicissitudes, of which we have been speaking, 
all been witnessed in your habitations. In my own, too, joy 
and sorrow have been interchanging guests. Sickness once 
laid its sore hand upon me ; and twice has death come knock- 
ing at my door ! My beautiful, my angel child sleeps where 
so many of your parents and children sleep ; but I mourn not 
as those who have no hope. " God hath done all things well." 
I often see her among those who wear white robes in heaven, 
one of those ;> little ones'- of which the Saviour has said, " of 
such is the kingdom of God and when faith is clear, rejoice 
that I have one child in Paradise enjoying the beatitudes of 
immortality. 

The twenty years which I have spent in the service of this 
church, constitute the best portion of my life. I have gather- 
ed, it is true, a larger experience than I brought here ; and have 
accumulated stores of knowledge while pursuing the duties of 
my calling. The advantage of these you may expect to enjoy ; 
but I can not promise any greater activity, any increase of ardor, 
any higher vigor. Like many of those who now constitute 
" the bone and sinew" of this church, after a few more years, 
my life will pass into the sear and yellow leaf, and the autumn 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



69 



of its days come on. We have lived in harmony so long, that 
I cherish no apprehensions hnt that we shall be able to con- 
tinue it to the end. Where I have buried my dead it may be 
that my ashes will also rest ; and when my work is done, that I 
shall leave only the memorial of a grave by which to hold a 
place in the thoughts of the living. If it should be so, may I 
meet yon all in heaven to spend a happy eternity in the enjoy- 
ment of the rest of Gocl. "What blessedness to have all my 
friends with me in glory ! 

When I look back to-day over the past years, many pleasing- 
memories likewise rise up to view. I have to acknowledge 
almost universal kindness, respect, and attention, on the part of 
all the members of this congregation. When I look over the 
face of this whole audience I see a friend in every one. In 
many of you such firm, fast, tried, lasting friends, as few minis- 
ters, even in our happy connection, have been permitted to 
claim. There are even some of the Fathers here who selected 
me as their pastor and sent for me ; to doubt them would- be 
to doubt mankind, and disavow all faith in truth and honor. 
Here, too, are others who have cast in their lot with us, and 
already proved that they are not a whit behind the foremost 
and the best, in devotion to the church and willingness to main- 
tain her interests ; and a noble band of youth, strong in their 
love of the truth, earnest in their piety, and ardent in their de- 
sire not to prove themselves unworthy of the just expectations 
formed of their character as men and as Christians ; besides 
many godly women whose hearts have always been warm, and 
whose hands have ever been ready, where any affection was to 
be shown and any work to be done — they are all here and 
will be here, until God has need of them in his higher work, 
and translates them to his own house in heaven ! 

There is, however, one thought which comes in like a dark 
cloud, to obscure the sunshine which illumines this happy day. 
It is the knowledge that there are some here in the same 
condition in which they were here twenty years ago. They 
were strangers to renewing grace then, and they are strangers 
to renewing grace now. They have been warned of their 
danger, reasoned with, expostulated with, and entreated, but 
all in vain. Twenty years of Sabbaths and gospel privileges 
5 



70 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



is no small item in the account of eternity. How will they 
meet it ? What can I do for them ? I know of no argu- 
ments to prevail with them which have not been employed, 
no depths in the love of Christ which have not been displayed, 
no heights in his mercy which have not been shown, no at- 
tractions in his cross which have not been unfolded, no joys 
flowing from communion with God which have not been paint- 
ed, no power in heavenly things which has not been urged 
again and again ! I can not preach stronger, clearer, more 
earnestly, or more affectionately than I have preached. I can 
not tell you any more of Jesus than I have told yon ; nor can 
I paint the value of your sonls in stronger colors than I have 
painted it. What, then, can be clone for you \ Must I leave you I 
Leave yon ! where '? In sin — enemies to God and his govern- 
ment — unregenerated and unmatured for heaven ! To leave 
you where you are, is to leave you to perish, with all your sins 
upon your souls. I can not leave you thus. You must hear me 
to-day, if yon have never been willing to hear me before. You 
must not leave me to witness against you at the bar of God, 
when I come to give an account of my stewardship as your 
pastor ! You must come to Christ ! Above all others you 
are bound to repent and believe on the Saviour. So much 
grace has been expended upon you, so much long suffering has 
waited on you, so much compassion has entreated you, that 
you must not throw it all away, and like a mariner perishing 
in sight of land, die on the borders of heaven. There is an 
obligation upon you which rests not upon others. You have 
had your cup of mercies running over. You are Chorazin and 
Bethsaida in the days of Christ. " exalted to heaven," and if 
you are recreant to all at last, you will like them be thrust 
down to hell — the lowest, darkest, most despairing portion in 
the " horrible pit." Oh ! how much the misery of the lost 
will be increased by their mercies and Sabbaths on earth. 
What sorrowful reflections will be inspired by these solemn 
assemblies where God comes to woo and to win us to himself ! 
My dear friends, you must not leave your Saviour. You must 
not let the world ensnare you and cheat you out of your souls. 
They are too valuable to be trifled with. The estimation of 
them in the sight of God is too high, for you to barter them 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



71 



for a promise which will prove to be but an empty shadow. 
Hear us then, when we plead with you to-day, though you may 
have refused to hear for twenty years ; and as you hear turn to 
God and live. 

~Nor would we forget another and an opposite class of our 
hearers to-day — the rising youth. To them my heart turns 
with infinite yearnings. Many of them I have consecrated to 
God by sprinkling upon them the water of baptism ; and all 
their life long, I have prayed that God would add his bless- 
ing, and sprinkle upon them clean ivater, that they may be 
clean — communicating the regenerating influences of the Holy 
Spirit to make them new creatures, the children of God. Many 
of them I have instructed carefully in the excellent formulas 
of our faith, and made them acquainted with the way of life. 
Should I not rejoice to see them entering upon it ? My young 
friends, when I think how soon you are to be in the place of 
your fathers and mothers, the responsibilities of the church and 
the world resting upon you, I feel the deepest solicitude that 
you should prove yourselves worthy of your privileges, your 
instruction, and your opportunities. More is anticipated from 
you than from them, because you have grown up under a bet- 
ter train of influences, and have enjoyed what was denied to 
them. You must be better Christians than they have ever 
been. Your benevolence must be larger, your zeal warmer, 
your piety more active. This age of the church calls you to 
many duties from which, in providence, they were exempt. 
There are things for you to do, which they had not the privi- 
lege of doing. All our missionary operations and our Sabbath- 
schools are lights of this generation ; and they open to you 
wider departments of labor, and furnish pleasing opportunities 
of displaying a Christianity of a purer type, than that which 
performed the duties and met the responsibilities of the past 
generation. Let the examples of the Scriptures encourage 
you. Samuel, the chief among the prophets under the Old 
Testament, ministered to God in his childhood — his mother 
" lent him to the Lord," and he grew up, as it were, in the very 
temple of God. Josiah, one of the very best of the kings, had 
a heart that was tender toward God in his tender years. 
When Christ was on earth, and the priests and the Sanhe- 



72 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



drim rejected and insulted him, the children went out to 
meet him in the way, and sang joyful Hosannas in his praise. 
Timothy, one of the most interesting characters in the New 
Testament, and one of the most successful among the early mis- 
sionaries of Christ's Gospel, was from a child acquainted with 
the Scriptures, " which are able to make us wise unto salvation 
through faith in Jesus Christ." Nay, there is a point of 
higher interest still to be remarked in the piety of this young 
apostle. He was a child of the covenant — " the faith that was 
in him had dwelt first in his grandmother Lois, and in his 
mother Eunice." Like some of you he was born of prayers 
and baptized early with the dews of divine influences. The 
house in which he grew up had been a Bethel, where God was 
present often, even when unknown. Oh ! if Timothy, the son 
of such parents and privileges, had proved recreant to his holy 
obligations, what a wretch he must have been ! And yet there 
are such in this world of sin — sons who renounce their baj> 
tism, shame the piety of their parents, and deliberately turn 
away, even from that heaven where those parents are living 
and waiting to receive them, for the sake of the baubles and 
the lies of this deceitful world. My young friends, let me 
warn you against this — let me entreat you to avoid so un- 
natural a sin. Devote your early years to wisdom, and give 
your young affections to Christ and heaven. God claimed 
in ancient times the " first-fruits" for himself. Carry your 
" green ears" to the sanctuary, and lay them upon the altar 
as an offering and an emblem of the consecration of your- 
self, soul and body, to be the Lord's. Give the pleasures of 
sin to those who know of no better portion. They are at 
best but vain delights. Their honeycomb has always a sting 
in it : and it is like the little book of John, sweet in your 
mouth, but wormwood and gall when you have eaten it. 
Religion offers you in their place " spiritual delights, sweet 
and pleasant to the soul." It will bring you to a banquet- 
ing house," and spread over you such a banner of love," that 
you will be made to rejoice with "joy unspeakable and full of 
glory." 

In regard to the future — I neither have any new plans of 
usefulness to announce, nor any methods or measures of doing 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



73 



good to recommend, with which you are not already acquainted. 
I have not in fact even any new promises to make. I do not 
expect to labor more than I have done, to preach in a different 
way, or indeed to try any experiments whatever : bnt as long 
as I remain the pastor of this church, I shall preach what I 
think to be the truth — truth as I learn it in the Bible ; and I 
shall not preach it any the less because it is unwelcome to 
some, but the more ; because in the unwelcomeness I shall find 
both the need of it and the motive to enforce it. I shall ex- 
pect the cooperation, sympathy, support, countenance, and 
prayers of all the pious among my people. I must have them. 
The claim is not put forth as a favor, it is demanded as a 
right — and if you withhold these things from me you will do 
yourselves more harm than you will do me. I may in such an 
issue seek another place, and secure from others what you 
deny, but you can not avoid the consequences of delinquency 
in a duty so important. I shall expect that these prayers will 
be something more than a form ; for the form and the words 
are nothing without the heart, without faith. " Right believ- 
ing," says one, "is powerful praying." The knees, eyes, and 
tongue bear the least share in prayer. The whole of the work 
lies upon the soul, and particularly upon faith in the soul, 
which is the life and power of prayer. Faith can pray with- 
out words, but the most eloquent words, even the " tongues of 
angels," are not worthy to be called prayer without faith. 
This is not only a solemn truth, but an important reality. 

And now, in conclusion, let me remind you that one volume 
of our mutual accountability, as pastor and people, is closed ; 
and another commences to-day. In the past, alas, there is too 
much written against us ! Records of neglect and an imper- 
fect spirit testify to the want of zeal and love in the service of 
our God — records which we shall not be able to meet at the 
judgment seat of Christ, unless the pardoning blood of the 
Saviour shall be imputed to us to wash their guilt away. Let 
us first seek for grace, to enable us to secure to ourselves the 
efficacious virtue of that blood, and then let us arm our souls 
with faith, and so warm them with love — love to God as the 
effect of communion with him around the mercy seat — that in 
all the future we shall be enabled to abound so much in works 



74 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



of righteousness, as to "prove our title clear to mansions in 
the skies." We are standing, many of us, on the borders of 
Immanuel's land. We can almost look across the dark vale, 
and see the shining hills on the immortal shores ; we can 
almost hear the music that is swelling there, as they sing and 
are joyful in God. Let the thought of this home cheer our 
spirits amid the toils of the way, and strengthen us to run 
patiently the race set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author 
and finisher of our faith. Oh ! it will be sweet indeed for the 
weary to come and rest "on Canaan's calm and peaceful 
shore ;" and before another twenty years have run their course, 
many who are here now, will be there. Oh ! that we might 
all be sure of coming there at last. Let us all strive so to live 
as to consummate this highest good. 

And now may the God of peace, that brought again from 
the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great Shepherd of the 
sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant make you 
perfect in every good word and work, working in you that 
which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ ; to 
whom be o-lorv forever and ever. Amen. 



THE FIFTH MEMOEIAL SEEMOK 



Preached Oct. 1st, 1857. 

A P KOPEK AND PROFITABLE REMEMBRANCE. 

" Call to remembrance the former days." — Heb. 10 : 32, 

In" our text, this reminiscence of the past is referred to for 
the purpose of increasing the confidence of the Hebrew 
Christians in the favor and protection of God, while suffering 
the obloquy and persecution of their enemies. It is not, there- 
fore, with the same design that we propose to " call to remem- 
brance former days," for we have had no such obloquy to 
meet, and no such afflictions to endure. Our reminiscences 
of the past reveal mercy and not j 'lodgment / and we have more 
of the kindness of our God to record than any visitation of 
his anger against our sins to acknowledge or to deplore. We 
can truly say, " Loving-kindness and tender mercies have fol- 
lowed us all the days of our life," and by the help of God we 
continue until the present time the witnesses of his long-suf- 
fering favor. 

This is the twenty-fifth anniversary of our settlement in the 
pastoral charge of this congregation, and we propose to im- 
prove it by a special recognition. We have been accustomed 
to notice this event at intervals of five years, and this is the 
fifth anniversary. For a quarter of a century, Ave have stood 
in this place, preaching the Gospel of the grace of God to this 
congregation. It is a long time to minister to one people ; 
and the fact of the pastoral relation having continued for o 
many years, must bring up to view many things worthy to be 
recollected and recorded. It is by no means common, in this 



76 MEMORIAL SERMONS. 

age of fickleness, excitement, and perpetually recurring novel- 
ties, for a minister and his people to continue so long united. 
It must certainly be owing as much to your steadfastness, as 
it can be to my faithfulness and earnestness in the perform- 
ance of my duties. Many a pastor, more faithful than I have 
been, has been rudely discarded and dismissed ; while not a 
few have allowed themselves to be attracted by more inviting 
fields, or the prospect of less onerous service, and have left 
their people to mourn ! I feel, therefore, and you ought also 
to feel, that we have mutually reason to thank God, not only 
that these ties have not been sundered, but that they are, 
apparently, more lasting and tender to-day than at any for- 
mer period of our connection. It is not in a spirit of boasting 
that I call you to witness publicly that " I have not shunned 
to declare to you the whole counsel of God," and that I have 
kejDt back nothing of all that I have been taught, either of 
doctrine or of practice, as essential to life and godliness ; and 
it is certainly no slight commendation of your Christian 
character and your love of the truth, that you have been 
willing to hear it all. That I have always been wise in the 
mode and time of utterance is more than I feel at liberty to 
claim, but whatever failure there may have been in the ex- 
hibition of truth, or the improvement of providential dispensa- 
tion, your charity has been abundantly willing to excuse it. 
One thing I will affirm, that I have never intended, by per- 
sonal allusions, to wound any one ; nor have I ever left the 
Gospel to preach on " the topics of the day," or to favor the 
peculiar views of any set of men, on politics or any thing else ; 
and of the propriety of this course I am more than ever con- 
vinced. I might have gained notoriety, produced excitement, 
and been lauded by certain persons, if I had pursued another 
course ; but I have preferred to be faithful to my duty, and 
to honor the Gospel, rather than seek any temporary advantage 
or ephemeral eclat ! 

In " calling to remembrance former things," and especially 
in the review which I propose to take of the last five years of 
my ministry here, there are both trials and joys which claim 
notice. Life is always made up of these two predominant 
elements. It is like a picture composed of light and shade. 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



77 



Both are necessary to a proper and proportionate exhibition 
of the objects represented. It is the contrast which brings 
them ont in their mutual relation to one another, and shows 
their dependence and connection. I begin, then, with some of 
the sad memories of these years. How can we ever forget 
that we are living among the dying ? Death is always stand- 
ing at our door, waiting the permission of God's providence to 
enter and do his work ; and if he has not found admittance into 
all our houses, it is because the angel of the covenant has 
guarded them and kept the entrance closed. Where he has 
come, he has been the messenger of woe, and his presence has 
been known by sorrow and tears. In this respect I have been 
no more favored than yourselves. If you have carried darlings 
to the tomb, so have I ; and if some of your hearts have been 
painfully tried in these sad bereavements, so has mine. An- 
other of my little ones sleeps in yonder cemetery — and the 
sorrow came in an unexpected hour, and far from home ; but 
shall I therefore refuse to bless God and bow to his sovereign 
will ? I can not ! I feel thankful that another one is safe 
from the snares of sin ; that I have another child in heaven ; 
another tie to bind me to the things, that are above ; another 
motive to live to God and press onward to that glorious prize 
which is set before us. God intends these things for our 
good ; he tells us so, and that is enough ! 

In reviewing, however, the progress of the great destroyer in 
the midst of us, we have rather occasion for thankf ulness that 
he has removed so few, than any real cause for grief on ac- 
count of those who have been called and taken. Our old men, 
and wise men, and godly men are most of them spared to us to 
enable them to edify the church a little longer by their prayers 
and example ! Few churches can boast of so many, Two have 
numbered more than fourscore and ten years ; and others are 
approaching fourscore ! But, while we notice the preservation 
of the fathers as occasions of thankfulness, we are also obliged 
to record with regret those who are not. John Garretson, John 
Herder, Frederick Cox, Peter Tillman, John B. Camman, Isaac 
Davis, Christian Miller, Job Squire, and Ferdinand Vander- 
veer are here no more ! To us they are not, for God has taken 
them. They have fulfilled the duties of their calling in the 



78 



MEMORIAL SERMOXF. 



clmrcli below, and are united with the church above, enjoying 
in its fullness the rich grace of that Saviour whom they pro- 
fessed before men, and served in sincerity all the days of their 
lives. A glorious transition it is indeed, when time becomes 
eternity, and we exchange this world of sorrow and sin for the 
bliss of heaven ! With what wonder and gratitude must their 
eyes have opened upon the splendors of the ~New Jerusalem, 
and the throne of the great King ; and with what rapture 
must they have heard the songs of the blessed in heaven ! No 
wonder that the apostle felt it to be "far better to depart and 
be with Christ." No wonder that the saint, when heaven in 
all its glory and rapture opens to his view, longs to be released, 
and cries out in his anxiety for its " hallowed rest,'' " Come 
quickly, come, Lord Jesus I" Oh ! that it may be so with us 
when we are called away ! May we have a holy calm in our 
hearts, and a bright hope of heavenly fellowship in our souls, 
and the eye of faith piercing completely through the gloom of 
the narrow vale and looking upon the Canaan beyond, assuring 
us that there are the mansions of rest in our Father's house 
waiting for us ! "We shall then, indeed, scarcely " feel death's 
cold embrace," while " Christ is in our arms" and our souls 
are borne away in " songs of most surpassing grace, 1 ' up to the 
very presence-chamber of the Divine Being himself ! It is a 
]>/'icilege to die when Ave can so calmly breathe our spirits 
away in the arms of Christ ! 

Xor can we fail to speak also of those " mothers in Israel," 
several of whom have now been kept so long, by increasing infir- 
mities, from the house of God and from the communion-table. 
Under a weight of years and wasting feebleness, they have 
been still able to maintain a strong faith, and testify habitu- 
ally of the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 
"Waiting for the coming of the Redeemer to release them from 
the bonds of clay, they are looking with anxious expectation 
to the hour of their departure, " hoping in the mercy of our 
Lord Jesus Christ," and prepared to hear him say, " Come up 
higher !" The mansions in our Father's house are prepared, 
and a seat at his right hand waiting, and they will soon go to 
rest in it. There care will cease and sin no more annoy, 
while the rapture of glory fills the joyful soul. 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



79 



Among tliose " who are not," we may mention Mrs. Cox, 
Mrs. Toms, Mrs. Dollwer, Mrs. Yoorhees, Mrs. Conldin, Mrs. 
Cooper, Mrs. Bangham, Mrs. Doty, Mrs. Cammann, Mrs. 
Yreedenburgh, Mrs. Yan Yeghten, Mrs. A. Yoorliees, and Mrs. 
P. Yoorhees, Mrs. Garretson, Mrs. Quick — all " godly women," 
wlio lived by faith and died in peace, after witnessing a good 
confession. In this way, while the number of our church on 
earth has been diminished, the number of the church in heaven 
has been increased. \Ye have lost, but they have gained. 
The savor of their holy life, and the encouragement of their 
exemplary piety, is ours no more, but the triumph of redeem- 
ing grace in sanctifying and perfecting souls for heaven has 
been completed. It is God who hath wrought all this, and 
therefore it is not for us to complain. Their absence from 
the family circle has, in many ways, been painfully felt, but 
their joys are complete, and so our loss is their gain. Even 
their flesh rests in hope, waiting the sound of the archangel's 
trump and the voice of God to wake the sleeping dead, and 
perfect in them the beauty of renovated life ; and when the 
morning of the resurrection dawns, and the Prince of life 
claims all the trophies of his conquest, they will appear with 
him in glory to inherit the rest waiting for the people of 
God. This is a glorious hope indeed ! It revives the courage 
of the saints in their pilgrimage of sorrow, and sheds its light 
upon the soul in the dying hour. All God's people may have 
the comfort of it, and, like the apostle, feel that " to die is 
gain." May it be ours when we see the dark shadows 
gathering around our last day, and our final farewells are to 
be said. 

Other changes have resulted from the force of circumstan- 
ces. Providence has called some of our members to other 
portions of the vineyard, and they have been honorably dis- 
missed with a cheerful benediction ; while a few have given 
preference to other communions in our immediate vicinity, and 
have left us. One thing, however, deserves to be remarked, 
and that is the uniform steadfastness which a very large pro- 
portion of those who have been received into fellowship in 
this church have manifested for it in their permanent attach- 
ment. Discipline is rarely necessary, and complaints that any 



so 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



are carried away by other " winds of doctrine" are almost en- 
tirely prevented. In so large a communion as ours, this feature 
is remarkable. Divisions are unknown. Feuds are discounte- 
nanced. Alienations seldom occur. The bonds of brotherhood 
and sisterhood are too strong and permanent for disruption. 
It may safely be stated as a fact, that at no previous time in 
its long history has this church been more perfectly of one 
mind than at this moment. This is a cause of thankfulness 
and encouragement, and presents an aspect of hopefulness for 
the future which it is delightful to contemplate. If it shall 
continue, we may hope that there will soon be experienced a 
blessing which will gladden every heart that loves and prays 
for the prosperity of Zion. And why shall it not be so '? " Be- 
hold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell 
together in unity !" A united church is a strong church. The 
Holy Spirit is a spirit of peace, and loves to seal, with quicken- 
ing and sanctifying influences, the hearts of all those that pray 
for the peace of Jerusalem ! 

We turn now to consider some of the lights which enter into 
the picture we are endeavoring to sketch. The past five years 
have been years of prosperity to our beloved church. Prayer 
has been mercifully answered, and converting grace bestowed 
in numerous instances. "While there has been no wide and 
extended revival of religion to gladden us, no excitement 
which has moved masses and affected multitudes, there has 
been what is more desirable — a constant, a pleasant, and a 
healthful growth in the church ! Xot one communion season 
has passed in which some have not come forward to take upon 
themselves the vows of God, and attest the living power of 
the Gospel. This is one of the most remarkable features in 
our history. Few churches can claim such remembrance 
before God. Few, indeed, are so highly favored. More com- 
monly a season of ingathering is succeeded by long seasons of 
barrenness, in which aridity and death prevail ; but upon our 
heritage the dew of heaven has constantly descended, and 
every year has been fertilized with refreshing influences, and 
yielded its harvests ! 

The whole number received during the last five years is one 
hundred and twelve, more than twenty in each year. Of this 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



81 



number seventy-nine have made confession of faith, more than 
sixteen in each year ; and thirty-three have come from other 
churches. This increase, notwithstanding the deaths which 
have occurred, and the constant pressure upon us from' the 
organization and growth, of new churches around ns, has kept 
our numbers equal to what they have ever been even in our 
most prosperous times ; and the whole number in communion 
to-day is only three less than it has been at any time when the 
number of families was far greater, and the district of country 
embraced by the congregation much larger ; while there are 
nearly one hundred more than there were when this church 
stood alone and included all the professors of religion in this 
whole region, where there are now five other churches, besides 
two others which were formed partly from families once in 
connection with us. If we had ever been disposed to give way 
to despondency, this would forbid it. If we had ever feared that 
the Lord might withdraw his favor from us, this w r ould dispel 
it. But we have not been disheartened. We have seen no 
reason to be ! In all our losses we have recognized the hand 
of providence, and been prepared to bid those God-speed who 
' ; went out from us," to prepare for themselves a more con- 
venient place in which to worship and enjoy the instruction of 
the Gospel. 

The largest number added to the church in any one of the 
last five years was thirty-two, and the smallest eighteen. And 
this again is remarkable — remarkable as an evidence of the 
special favor and blessing of God. In how r many places are 
there barren years \ In how many are they repeated until 
hope is well-nigh wearied out ! Many churches think they 
are favored in welcoming two or three to their communion, 
and they are right. It is a great blessing — it is a sufficient 
blessing — to encourage effort, when only one sinner is con- 
verted to God. But our covenant-keeping God, in his kind- 
ness to us, has enabled us to reckon our increase by the score ! 
It is to be recognized as a memorial of his faithfulness, and not 
gloried in on account of any thing we have done ! The truth 
is, this is evidently holy ground. These altars where we 
worship have been hallowed by the prayers of so many good 
me?i, who have stood here before us, to proclaim "the un- 



82 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



searchable riches of Christ," that the Holy Spirit seems to de- 
light to linger around them, shedding down his choicest in- 
fluences upon the dispensation of his holy word, and working 
in humble and penitent hearts his richest gifts and graces. If 
it is true that "wherever he records his name, that is Zion, 
there he dwells," how T much more must it be true that he de- 
lights to be where he pours down in perpetual streams the 
influences of his grace and love, to convert sinners and edify 
the people of God. It is a privilege indeed for the church to 
have such an inheritance of perpetual blessing in the faith 
and prayers of those who have labored for her good, and 
prepared for heaven in her communion. It will redound to her 
future increase and her perpetual prosperity. The prayer that 
is laid up before God and waits an answer is just as valuable 
and just as weighty as that which is now daily ascending up 
before him from the assemblies of his saints. They are both 
memorials wdiich his people have presented, and which he 
stands pledged to recognize and answer, by His covenant en- 
gagements. His faithfulness in either it is not right to doubt ; 
and he will make this manifest in his own time ! Think, 
then, how much future good there must be in store for us ; 
how much we owe to the piety of those holy men and women, 
who in past years have borne this church in all its interests so 
faithfully and so frequently before the throne of grace ; and 
how confident we should be that, in days to come, the Lord 
will remember his covenant, and send the early and latter 
rain in its season, multiplying the plants in his vineyard, and 
making those flourishing and green which are already planted 
there ! Certainl}- there are days of blessing in store for this 
church, and whether I shall minister here, or another, they will 
come and be enjoyed ; and those who see them will be glad 
and rejoice in beholding the right hand of the Lord. 

Every year that I live and labor as a minister increases my 
conviction of our absolute dependence upon the influence of the 
Holy Ghost, to give the word efficacy and to convert sinners. 
Every year that I live convinces me more and more, not of 
the vanity only, but also of the mischievoiisness, of all contri- 
vances, measures, and plans which look more to a human 
agency than to one that is divine, in carrying forward the 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



83 



work of the church. It is of God, of God absolutely, to in- 
cline ns " to will and to do, of his own good pleasure." 
u Every good and every perfect gift cometh down from the 
Father of lights and our hope and confidence in their con- 
tinuance is, that " with him there is no variableness, nor any 
shadow of turning." Prayer has prevailed in the world ; it has 
prevailed in securing blessings of a most extraordinary charac- 
ter, and of a most gracious efficiency upon this very church ; 
and prayer has lost none of its power. It can be employed 
with the same success and effect noio, and in all our future 
exigencies, that it has been in the past. This is certain. " The 
effectual and fervent prayer of a righteous man ever availeth 
much." It ever has been so ; it ever will be so ; and we must 
remember this, and engage our hearts constantly and fervently 
in pleading with God. This church has lived in prayer, been 
built up and rendered prosperous by prayer ; and in the future 
can only be preserved by its continuance. The richest inheri- 
tance that God has given to it — and he has given it much — is to 
be found in the prayers of those godly men and women who 
have loved this Zion, and so earnestly sought her good ! We 
thank his grace that there are so many ; and we value their 
power before the throne more than all the wealth and worldly 
influence that others have brought to her, or may hereafter 
bring ! These have their appropriate spheres, and are not to 
be despised ; the other is an absolute necessity which no church 
can do without and eminently prosper. 

It would not be proper that I should pass in silence over the 
kind leave of absence which was extended to me by the con- 
sistory and members of this church in the summer of 1854, which 
enabled me to see " foreign lands," and to refresh mind and 
body with travel, or the pecuniary assistance which was offered 
on that occasion. I have never regretted the time or the 
money expended for that purpose ; on the contrary, I think 
the only mistake was in not doing it sooner. You would then 
have experienced the benefit of it earlier as well as myself. 
There is an enlargement of mind, a correction of misappre- 
hensions, a realization of things both of interest and impor- 
tance ; an understanding of history, and a conception of men 
and governments, resulting from such a tour, which can be 



84 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



acquired in no other way. I feel that now I know things 
which I never could have known — know them as 1 could not 
have conceived of them, but from actual sight and acquain- 
tance. History is to me a new world ; pomp and power and 
royalty more vain than ever. After having sat down upon 
the thrones of half the kings of Europe, and done it probably 
with quite as much comfort as they ever did themselves, it 
seems to me a small thing to he a king, but a high and noble 
one to be a free man, the citizen of a free land, where every 
one is a sovereign — and so more than a king — in his own sphere 
of action ; for many of them live in sad trepidation, and are 
more enslaved than the very people whom they so much 
oppress. It is a miserable system in every way, this absolute 
power. I have brought home with me convictions in regard 
to our Protestantism, our free Bible church, in its connection 
with our civil rights and the preservation of our political in- 
stitutions, which I could not have had but for what I have 
seen abroad. I feel that in having here u a church without a 
bishop, and a state without a king," we have a boon granted, 
by the favor of God, to no one else ; and I am afraid when any 
one proposes to bring the first one in, for I know so well how 
soon and how certainly he will in his turn help to bring in the 
second ! I have no patience with those who propagate among us 
the customs and opinions of the Old World, I care not whether 
they be political or religious. It offends me to hear our in- 
stitutions lightly spoken of and undervalued ; and I can not 
help thinking that any man who allows himself, on any 
account, or in connection with any subject which he may be 
discussing, even by implication, to say that the blessed union 
of these free States can ever be annulled, ought to be publicly 
reprimanded, if not punished ; and I do not care who he is, 
or in what connection, or for what end, he may commit the 
offense. There are some things too sacred to be touched ; 
some too important to be questioned ; some which we guard 
with such tenderness that we will not allow any one even to 
approach them ; and this to me is such a one ! Now, this I can 
not help, after what I have seen ; for I think at once of the op- 
pressed peoples of the Old World. There I realized, for the first 
time, how low this glorious image of God impressed upon man 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



85 



can be degraded ! How vile tins being, made in that image, can 
be rendered ! I have seen men who seemed to have but little 
more self-respect than brutes, and but little more ambition 
than a worm ; and I have seen who made them so — the king, 
the noble, the priest ! And how do they keep them so ? By 
keeping them divided. What could not Italy — poor priest- 
ridden Italy ! — do to-day if she was only united? And Ger- 
many, that noble, beautiful, and mighty land, full of strong men 
.and great thinkers, how is Germany kept under that galling 
yoke, and almost the last drop of her blood sucked out of her 
veins by a horde of petty little princes, so despicable for their 
want of manhood, that if we had them here we would spit upon 
them and spurn them from our streets ! Germany is divided ; 
Germany is just what we will be if our Union is ever broken, 
and this comes to be a divided country, made up of separate 
states with separate and conflicting interests. I know I am 
approaching things which are considered to belong to other 
men, and to other connections ; but upon this subject I will 
not be silent. It is vital to every thing! It is the keystone 
to the whole arch. Take it aAvay, and the whole building be- 
comes a mass of ruins. Our state not only, but our churches, 
would soon fail; and as long as I have breath I will protest 
against this worse than suicide, and brand every man as a 
traitor who favors it. These pleasant Sabbaths which w T e 
now so much enjoy ; these blessed spiritual influences, under 
the culture of which our souls are ripening for heaven ; this 
restraining sense of religious obligation, which guards our 
children from the seductions of vice ; these peaceful family 
circles, in which religion diffuses its hallowed control — I can 
not see them destroyed ; they would all be if such a thing 
should happen. Our free commerce, and our personal liberty 
to go and come as we please, would likewise have an end, and 
even our life itself would hardly retain any thing worth 
naming enjoyment; and for me to stand by and see the way 
prepared for it all, in silence, is more than I can do ! 

There is a beauty which to be known must be seen, for it 
can not be described ; and there is pleasure which, to be felt, 
must be realized, or a sense of it can not be brought home to 
the mind. So there are delicate acts of kindness, a thoughtful 
6 



8(3 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



consideration for the feelings of others, a wakeful attention to 
their wants, a deference to their opinions and sentiments, to 
their trials and griefs, which is to be experienced in order to 
he known, for it can not he written or spoken ! How much 
of this, how timely, how affectionate it has been, and how 
Often repeated on the part of many of my people, I can not 
exhibit in any sensible way. But it is treasured np in my 
heart, and memory will love to recall it and dwell upon it, 
until death comes and silences its pulsations and chills np the 
fountain of its emotions ! Every tiling, it is true, has not oeen 
of this character, and the conduct of every one has not been so 
considerate and tender toward me ; but as we live to err we 
should also live to forgive ; and when I come to review the whole 
of my personal intercourse with my people, I can not but feel 
thankful that there has been so little that I could even wish 
had been otherwise ! When I look over the audience which 
assembles before me on the Sabbath morning, they are all my 
friends. I feel I could trust them all with my welfare and 
my most treasured sentiments, without any distrust. This is 
no small comfort. It has a tendency to warm my heart when 
T am engaged in speaking to them the words of life. It draws 
out yearning and earnest desires, when I bear their interests 
up before the mercy-seat. It gives importunity to my plead- 
ings that they would be wise and consider their latter end. 
The comfort of it is mine, but the benefit is theirs. It is just 
as it should be, for it helps me to preach to them, to pray for 
them, and to labor to do them good. It makes my whole 
effort in study and in preaching an offering of affection ! I 
could not have done what I have, had it been otherwise ; and 
when it ceases, I shall be content to cease to preach to them 
or to pray for them ! 

Twenty-five years — a quarter of a century ! It is a long- 
time for any man to stand before any people and preach to 
them. Think what it implies : 2800 sermons, 1300 lectures, 
half as many catechizings ; besides the funerals which have 
been attended, the sick-beds visited, the afflicted comforted, 
the anxious instructed, the erring reclaimed ! And you have 
always come here on the morning of the Sabbath expecting 
to hear things new rather than old, things to edify, instruct, 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



87 



and comfort you. If you have been sometimes disappointed, 
there is certainly nothing strange in that, it might easily 
have been far more frequent ! " Who is sufficient for these 
things ?" Are the treasures of the mind never to be ex- 
hausted ? Can any human soul be always so fresh and 
active and self-renewing as to be proof against weariness 
and a perpetual taxing of its powers? Let me warn you not 
to expect too much. There is a limit to every thing — to know- 
ledge, to thought, to fancy, to feeling ! 

In these twenty -live years you have had presented to you my 
best thoughts, my most strenuous efforts — the cream of my 
life ! What I have done has been done cheerfully, and from 
a sense of duty. It has been done earnestly and for your 
good ; and, on a review of it, I may say without disguise, " I 
have done what I could !" I have been honest and earnest in 
the efforts which I have made to instruct and edify all who 
have waited on my ministry, and I can not do any thing 
more or better than this in the future. 

And now, as to this future^ I can not tell what Providence- 
may direct. But one thing I do know, I shall be willing to 
stay, or willing to go, whenever and wherever the path of 
duty may be made clear. If there is one feeling which grows 
stronger and stronger every day in my consciousness, it is 
that I am not my own — that I can not devise my own ways,, 
nor tell what a day may bring forth. I see a special guiding 
Providence in my being here to-day, and, seeing it, I am con- 
tent ! What he points out to me, I mean to do ; where he 
directs, I mean to stay ; and when he calls me, I mean to go L 
Mure than ever can I say, " O God ! do thou thy will I wil l 
be still, I will not stir 1" 

I have many pleasant thoughts to-day. I look around and 
see here a multitude whom I claim as my children, and the 
seals of my ministry ! and indeed there is not a small number. 
They are not all here, for some have already "been taken up 
higher," and are " entered into their rest," and some have re- 
moved to other places ; but if they were all here, there would be 
some three hundred and twenty all told — almost a congregation, 
in themselves. But there are enough to give tone and senti- 
ment to the church ; and should I not feel safe with them 



88 



31 EM OKI AL SERMOXS. 



— a freedom to speak to them, and an assurance of kind con- 
sideration and affection ? I do feel it. I have a right to feel 
it ! I know their hearts and I confide in them ! I would be 
ashamed if I did not do it, sorely grieved if one of them 
should fail me ! 

I have a word to them to-day. I speak to them as children, 
and I say, " See that ye walk worthy of the vocation where- 
with ye are called." I rejoice in your piety and devotion to 
the cause of Christ, in your attachment to this church, its 
doctrines and its ordinances; in the prayers which I know 
you are constantly putting up before the throne of grace, for 
its prosperity and for me its pastor ! The assurance that I 
have those prayers strengthens me. I feel honored in the high 
tone of piety which many of you manifest, and in your zeal 
in the cause of the blessed Master. " Ye are our epistle, known 
and read of all men and while you prosper and increase in 
sanctification we shall rejoice. 

Those who do not stand in this tender relation to me, I 
know will excuse this special reference. It is not intended to 
imply that no others have the same confidence, or inspire the 
same feelings ; for to many of them I sustain the most intimate 
connection. iN"o one ever thinks of reproaching a parent be- 
cause he best loves his children, nor does he feel neglected in 
the expression of that love. It is so here. To my own children 
in the faith I can not but feel special attachment, and express 
in them the fullest confidence; and I know it will never, in 
any number of instances, be betrayed ! 

And there are others still: how shall I speak of them ? and 
what shall I say ? I have said all that it is possible for me 
to say, and all that I know to say ; and I have repeated it 
many times, and they have heard it : and yet, alas ! they have 
not been properly affected ! The harvest is past, the sum- 
mer is ended, and they are not saved ! For a quarter of a 
century they have sat almost every Sabbath under the instruc- 
tion of the divine word, and the dews of divine grace, and 
yet it has not been enough ! They are yet in their sins ; and 
the most gloomy -thought of all is, they have not seen or felt 
the necessity of fiying for refuge from them to Christ's aton- 
ing blood ! Twenty-five years of waiting and patience, on the 



M E M O R I A L S E R M 0 X S. 



89 



part of a gracious Saviour ! Twenty-five years of importunate 
pleading on the part of their pastor, has not sufficed to over- 
come their unbelief and. carnal pride ! What, then, will 
suffice ? How much longer will the patience and forbearance 
of God extend themselves ? It seems to me there is every 
thing to alarm them, to arouse them, to impel them, now u to 
attend to the things which belong to their peace." I can do no 
more. I take you all here to witness this day that I am free 
from the blood of their souls, " for I have not forborne to de- 
clare to them the whole counsel of God." It is not, surely, 
ignorance that they can plead, for the way of life has been 
fully set before them, in all the amplitude of its provisions, 
and all the graciousness of its in vitations ! "What is it, then ? 

And there is yet another portion whom I see around me 
here, of whom it may be said, that if the former are almost 
hopeless in their long delay, they are hopeful in their early 
life, for upon them is now the dew of youth. Many of them 
have grown up here as plants in the vineyard. Their parents 
dedicated them to God before these altars, and the emblema- 
tic water of regeneration was sprinkled upon their foreheads. 
They have been trained in our Sabbath-schools and cateche- 
tical classes, and are w T ell instructed in all the great doctrines 
of the Christian religion. They stand, not only in a position 
of privilege, but also in a relation to this church, which is 
very solemn and affecting. We hope great things from their 
future — hope to welcome them to the communion of Christ's 
little ones, and then to see them maturing for heaven, and 
spreading all around them the savor of their holy life and 
pious conversation ! In the ardor of our love, and the. earnest- 
ness of our desire for their growth in grace, we now " com- 
mend them to God and to the word of his grace, which is 
able to sanctify them and present them before the throne of 
his power with exceeding glory !" 

And now, another volume of our life-history is closed, and 
a new one opens to-day. It is, to all of us, a matter of momen- 
tous concern that it should only be filled with such records as 
Ave shall be willing to meet when we stand before God, to " be 
judged for the deeds done in the body." To the consistory 
of tin's church we say, " Study such things as make for peace, 



90 



MEMORIAL SERMOXS. 



and tend to edify the body of Christ. Be examples to the 
flock over which you have been placed, in prayer, in faith, in 
charity; devise liberal tilings, and work faithfully in your 
calling!" To the members of the church we say, Live to- 
gether in peace ; love one another sincerely ; pray for the 
church, its pastor, and communicants. Hold not back your 
hand from any thing that is good. i: Be sober, be diligent, 
and in due time you will reap, if you faint not !" 

To the congregation, young and old, I say, Wait here faith- 
fully on the means of grace, and be diligent in the hearing of 
God's word. Study to approve yourselves to him, and pre- 
pare to meet him in judgment. t; The faithful and obedient 
shall eat the fruit of the land !" And now, " May the God of 
peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus 
Christ, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of 
the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work 
to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in 
His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever 
and ever." Amen. 

SoMETtvuj.E, X. J., October 1st.. 1S57. 



THE SIXTH MEMORIAL SEEMOK 



Preached Oct. 23th, 1832. 

THE REHEAKSAL OF THE PAST FOR INSTRUCTION. 

" Hear tills, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inliabitants of tlie land. Tell 
ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their 
children another generation." — Joel 1 : 2-3. 

" We have heard with our ears, 0 God, our fathers have told us, what 
things thou didst of old." — Psalm 44 ; 1. 

"And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they 
rehearsed all that God had done with them." — Acts 14 : 27. 

Tins language is a sufficient warrant for the service which 
Ave propose to observe to-day. The circumstance that these 
were judgments which the prophet commanded to be kept in 
memorial, offers no real argument against, but rather increases 
and intensifies the significance of the direction in our text. 
In point of fact, there is much in God's providence every day, 
which it would be instructive to remember, and we should be 
all wiser if we treasured up more carefully the teachings of 
the divine hand. The years repeat themselves ; and though 
not in such an unvaried succession as to make one in all re- 
spects the pattern of the other, yet with so much sameness as 
to give occasion to the observation of the wise man, " The thing 
that hath been, it is that which shall be ; and that which is 
done, is that which shall be done ; and there is no new thing 
under the sun." 

The most careful observer of providence, if this be true, is 
likely to be the one who is best prepared for its events, and 
the least surprised either by judgments or mercies ; for if he 
understands its nature, he will anticipate both and know that 
neither the one nor the other is likely to continue without 
change. 

Memorials are useful as reminders of what has been. When 



02 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



the Israelites liacl safely crossed over Jordan, " Joslma took 
twelve stones out of the waters, and pitched them in Gilgal " 
as a monument in commemoration of that event, and said, 
" When your children ask their fathers, in time to come, What 
mean these stones? then ye shall let your children know, say- 
ing, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land, for the Lord 
your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until 
ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did the Red Sea, 
wliich he dried up before us, until we were gone over." 

In the same way Moses had before directed, in reference to 
the passover, "When your children shall ask,. What mean ye by 
this service ? ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's 
passover, who passed oyer the houses of the children of Israel 
in Egypt when he slew the Egyptians." In both instances 
remembrance is enjoined, and a memorial provided for. This 
is what we are now intending to do. It may be an humble 
imitation, but it can not be said to be with out warrant. We 
may compare small things with great, but it can not be affirmed 
that the great things are not found in the Scriptures with 
which we seek comparison and plead as our warrant. 

Let us then proceed to " gather the stones" out of which 
we shall endeavor to compose our monument to-day. It is a 
memorial Sabbath, and to us it is a most interesting, not only, 
but a most important period, in the history of our ministerial 
life. It reminds us of a whole generation, most of whom are 
no more, and recalls the various vicissitudes of its passing 
years. 

To-day it is thirty years since I came here in obedience to 
the call of your fathers (for there are only a few left who 
united with them in that act) and occupied this pulpit for the 
first time ; and to-day likewise is the sixth anniversary of the 
fifth years wliich we have been accustomed to observe in com- 
memoration of that event. The records of five of these periods 
haye previously been made, and four of them have been printed 
and are in your hands. We do not propose to repeat any 
thing which has already been remarked, but to confine our- 
selves to present circumstances, and principally to the last 
period of five years. There is more than enough, even in this 
confined view and this brief time, to occupy us fully and in- 



MEMORIAL SERMOXS. 



93 



terest us abundantly. In many ways these years Lave been 
memorable and pregnant years. Events have passed which 
will never be forgotten ; some of them joyful, and demanding 
praise ; some sorrowful, and calling for resignation and the 
exercise of faith in the benevolence and justice of the divine 
hand ! 

Thirty years is a generation. At its conclusion, those who 
were the men of action when it commenced are numbered 
among the dead, while another race has come upon the stage, 
assumed the control of things, and holds the place of influence 
and power ! This is strikingly manifested in the audience 
which sits before me to-day, as compared with that which as- 
sembled to listen to my first discourse thirty years ago. A 
few are left, it is true. I see here and there one whom I re- 
member as being present on that occasion, but the number is 
so small as to make them exceptions to the general rule, rather 
than facts to prove that it is not true. We look around on 
the new faces, and exclaim in sadness and regret as we think 
of the departed, " The fathers, where are they % and the pro- 
phets, do they live forever ?" 

We recollect among the absent many kind friends, many 
excellent Christians, many Arm supporters of this church, 
many men of prayer and faith, strong men for influence, for 
resistance of the wrong and the advocacy of the right, and 
faithful men in fulfilling promises and the acknowledgment 
of obligations ; and as they were removed in succession, we 
stood by their graves and sighed because we felt each time 
that another prop was removed and another staff to lean upon 
taken away ! This has occurred so often that our confidence 
would long since have failed, had it not been that God has 
been pleased, in great kindness toward us and toward his 
church here, to enable us to say, " Instead of the fathers here 
are their children." Yes, and they have proved that they were 
no " degenerate sons," unworthy of such an honorable pater- 
nity. It is one of the peculiarities of this church, that it has 
in it, now, many representatives of its very first members. 
Names have been perpetuated in the friends and officers of the 
church from the very commencement until the present time 
— names that are honored even yet. This gives it peculiar 



94 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



strength. It is surely more pleasant and even more profitable 
to know that we are worshiping now just where our parents 
and our ancestors worshiped before lis. It is more impres- 
sive to worship there than it could be in any other place. 
May we not also believe that God is more propitious to the 
prayers and praises which are offered in places so long devoted 
to his service than he is elsewhere? In the temple at Jeru- 
salem he claimed a special ownership. And many accepted 
prayers are only fulfilled in generations to come. Fathers 
offer them and their children inherit the blessing. One gene- 
ration in this way labors in sowing the seed, and breaking up 
the fallow ground, and another is honored in bringing in the 
sheaves into the garner. Both are equally useful, both are 
equally employed in God's service, and neither has the right 
to exalt himself and depreciate the other, as if he alone was 
worthy to be commended. Some men seem to think that the 
church has nothing to do but to make a record of conversions. 
Some are so ignorant as to begin to be discouraged as soon as 
they cease, even for a single year or part of a year. Should 
they not consider, Is it always harvest-time? Has the winter 
season no necessary agency to perform in completing the glo- 
ries of the year? Even in tropical climes, though there is no 
winter, the activities of the vegetable world cease for a time, 
and every thing lies dormant, as if it were reposing for the 
purpose of recuperating its energies and displaying more vigor 
when the waking comes again. It ought to be so in the 
church. It must he so in order to preserve her in a healthful 
condition. A church with a perpetual revival would be a 
church with a most unnatural life, and could not fail to be- 
come sickly, excitable, and unfit for the work assigned to every 
church — that of training souls for glory ! 

In accordance witli this, we have to lament our losses as 
well as to record our increase. We remember our harren 
years, and are glad to know that there have been some also 
that have. been fruitful. We have seen our winters as well as 
our summers. We have shed tears over the graves of the 
dead, and we have uttered shouts of gladness when the young 
converts like sheaves were brought into the garner. Thus our 
experience has been only a picture of human life, composed of 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



95 



sunshine and clouds, of daylight and darkness. What is most 
encouraging to faith is, that God has given us strength as our 
day and brought us hitherto in safety. We erect anEbenezer 
on this spot, and inscribe upon it, the "Lord our helper." 

It would not be proper to speak of those who are lost to us 
without also remembering those who have been gained. Some 
of our honored families are stronger and more numerous in 
the church at the present moment than they ever were, while 
there are others who have cast in their lot with us, who are 
not behind the very best. In fact, the church has, probably, 
at no period of her previous history, embraced as much wealth 
or as much intelligence as she does at this moment. Whafe 
we really need is not more strength or greater numbers, but 
more zeal, more prayer, more devotion to our appropriate 
work, each in the sphere where God has placed us, minding 
the apostolic rule, " he that teacheth, on teaching ; he that 
exhorteth, on exhortation ; he that giveth, let him do it with 
simplicity ; he that ruleth, with diligence ; he that showeth 
mercy, with cheerfulness." Our list of communicants is larger 
than it ever was, though for the last three vears the increase 
has not been much more than to make up for the losses which 
death and removals have produced ; while the real sentiment 
of the church promises harmony in action and a coincidence 
in feeling, from which almost perfect unity may be expected 
in her future course upon all the great questions and interests 
which claim attention. In this unity her greatest strength 
will be found to reside, either in enduring or in working, and 
with it we are invincible ! 

During the five years which we are now reviewing, there 
have been received into the communion of the church on con- 
fession 8i persons, and by certificate 42, making the whole 
number of members received in full communion 126, and giv- 
ing an average of more than 25 in each year ! These have 
come from all the different classes of the population embraced 
in the congregation ; but a large majority have been trained 
in our Sabbath-schools and been of the youth of our charge. 
There is, of course, a great diversity in the character and use- 
fulness to be observed in such a number. Some of them, in 
process of time, become efficient and eminent Christians, re- 



96 



MEMORIAL SERMON* 



mainirig with us for life and giving the force of their character 
and the devotion of their prayer? and example to the cause of 
religion ; others, inactive and undevoted, can merely increase 
the strength of the church by numbers, and hang as a weight 
upon her skirts ; while others still remain with us only for a 
little while, and then are called in providence to other places 
and unite with other churches. Tins difference can not be 
avoided: all have not the same measure of grace, nor have all 
a permanent lot in providence, and as we welcome them when 
they come, we cherish them while with us. and dismiss them 
cheerfully when they go away, happy to give to others what 
circumstances do not allow us to retain as our own. if they are 
only useful in their sphere. 

Out of this number of 126, we have dismissed 01 honorably 
to other churches, while 10 have died and gone, as Ave are 
privileged to hope, from the associations and enjoyments of 
the church below to the general assembly of the saints in 
heaven. The whole number thus dismissed and parted with 
in death is 77, leaving 49 as the actual increase of the com- 
munion during the space of time included in our present 
review. This amounts to one less than 10 in each year as the 
permanent enlargement of the membership of the church by 
confession and certificate during this period, This, though not 
large, is still an encouraging fact, demonstrating the constant 
presence of the Holy Spirit in his active efficiency, and prov- 
ing that we have had at no time any real cause to complain 
with the prophet. i; All day long have I stretched forth my 
hands to a disobedient and a gainsaying people I" The in- 
crease might have been much larger, and in some periods of 
the history of our church it'has been so: but it might also 
have been much, smaller, and in the past there have also been 
times when it was so. Other churches in our land have 
enjoyed a more abundant prosperity • but we doubt whether 
there is one in this immediate vicinity which has been, upon 
the whole, more highly favored. TTe do not make this obser- 
vation in a spirit of boasting, but in order to set in a proper 
point of light the favor which. God has extended toward us. 
That more earnestness in preaching, and more prayerfulness 
and zeal on the part of all the members of the church, would 



MEMOJRIAL SEUMOXS. 



97 



have secured a much larger increase, we most sincerely believe ; 
but in the measure of earnestness to wliicli each lias attained 
and been able to manifest, the faithful fulfillment of God's 
promise has not failed or been wanting. The whole review 
certainly affords matter for hopeful encouragement, and, if 
properly considered, ought to stimulate us all to add to our 
faith virtue, and to our diligence godliness, earnestness, and 
activity. The Lord is not in any sense slack concerning any 
of his promises. The hand of the diligent maketh rich in 
spiritual things just as certainly as it does in temporal things. 
The smallest service done for God always secures a rich re- 
ward, and it comes to us in many ways of which we may 
long continue to be ignorant, but which will make themselves 
clearly manifest at least in the future world and in the higher 
life. It is a blessed thing to do good under any circumstances. 
They who turn many to righteousness will shine as stars in 
the firmament, and even a cup of cold water given to a disci- 
ple in the name of Christ will be remembered in heaven and 
receive the commendation of the Saviour when he makes up 
his jewels and calls his redeemed ones home ! 

The whole number which have been admitted to the com- 
munion of the church since my ministry commenced here, is 
612. This gives an average of more than 20 in each year, and 
in comparison with the whole number admitted from the first 
organization of the church, in 1699, is probably nearly equal 
to one half. 

The highest number admitted to communion during this 
period in any one year was 49. The smallest number was 9. 
The first occurred in 183S, and the latter in 1859. Between 
these extremes the average falls, and it is remarkable what a 
uniformity it indicates. 

Now, if we consider these facts attentively, they must be re- 
garded as, upon the whole, highly expressive and encouraging. 
Amid all the variety of feeling and sentiment which have arisen 
out of the vicissitudes of providence, God's power has been 
constantly manifest in the church, in the blessing attendant on 
the Word and ordinances. His truth has not been proclaimed 
in vain in any one year, nor hath he left himself without a 
witness. The rain from heaven has no more certainly de- 



98 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



scended and fructified the earth and matured the harvest, to 
be gathered into the garner of the husbandman, than the good 
seed of the kingdom of heaven, sown in the church, has yielded 
a harvest of souls to be brought into the house of God. We 
are, therefore, all witnesses this clay to the stability of the 
covenant, and the rich abundance of its blessings. We derive 
a new assurance that none that seek the Lord shall in any 
wise fail in finding his promise true. His church is ever be- 
fore him, and all her interests are remembered in his thoughts 
of love, and provided for constantly through his grace ! Thirty 
consecutive years in which there has not been one barren one, 
and only two communion seasons in the whole series in which 
none were added on confession, and only a single one in which 
some were not received by certificate, is surely proof of this. 
(For thirty years there has only been one communion that was 
entirely barren and fruitless in appearance ; even this w r as not 
so in reality.) "We do not insist upon this for the purpose of 
self-praise, far from it ; but we doubt whether there are many 
other churches which can show such a record. God has in- 
deed been good to us, and his loving-kindness and favor really 
reach even unto the clouds. Let us remember it to his praise, 
and to the prevention of any despondency in any future try- 
ing hours that may come upon us, in whatever troublous 
times God may please to send. 

During the whole period -of my ministry I have baptized 
56S children and 45 adults on confession of their faith ; and 
performed the marriage ceremony 287 times. 

I feel constrained to make a single remark in this connec- 
tion. It seems to me that the greatest evil in our present 
position as a church is to found in the fact that for the last 
few years there have been so few infants presented for the 
ordinance of baptism. It shows that our families are not in- 
creasing, and since it is certain that they must decrease by 
death, it seems to point to a time when the prosperity of the 
church will be less, and the whole aspect of things neces- 
sarily be discour aging. "VVe believe that enough is not done 
to retain our young people with us. "We proposed the pur- 
chase of an organ as one of the things which probably would 
tend to prevent what certainly ought to be prevented ; and 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



99 



we believe, now, that if it had been clone, even to-day the ex- 
pense would have been a saving to the prominent members of 
the church, while the number of hearers would be proportion- 
ately increased. The objections against the use of such an 
instrument in the services of the sanctuary w T e can not consider 
as having any real weight. In a Dutch church surely they 
ought not to be regarded as of sufficient consequence to obviate 
the certain benefits, since in the fatherland such use is univer- 
sal, and in this country the want has arisen from another 
cause — the difficulty of obtaining the instrument at first, and 
then the habit of worshiping without it. Music is too vital 
and large an element in the comfort of public worship to be 
disregarded by those who consider wisely the advantage of the 
church and the importance of having that which at once 
satisfies the spiritual mind and engages the youthful heart. We 
believe the loss experienced to be a serious one, and of such a 
character as to require an immediate remedy ; and I have felt, 
therefore, that so much at least ought to be said on the present 
occasion. Whether our counsels will be regarded, remains for 
the future to determine. A duty will at all events have been 
discharged, and we can only leave the subject to those to whom 
the matter belongs, and with whose interests it is identified. 

~No record of human life can pretend to be complete which 
omits to mention the doings of the destroyer. In a period of 
five years, he invades almost all our habitations and takes away 
some one member from almost every domestic circle ; often 
that very one is removed which is the centre of all hearts 1 
Hence when we come to mention the names of those who have 
departed, we strike chords that vibrate from one side of the 
house to the other. Our catalogue is not a list of those w T ho 
have died in the congregation, but only of those in the com- 
mnnion of the church ; and we are not absolutely sure that it 
is perfect, as our records are less complete in this department 
than in any other ; but we remember Dr. Peter I. Stryker, 
John Garretson, Eyneir Yan ISTeste, Abraham Stryker, Wil- 
liam B. Gaston, Peter Wortman, Cornelius Yanderveer, Wil- 
liam Bunn, Peter Dumont, P. T. Tunison, and Mr. Richard 
Ten Eyck, Mrs. Phebe Hoagland, Mrs. Cornelia Beekman, 
Miss Catherine Yeghte, Mrs. J. Yanderveer, Mrs. William 




100 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



Bunn, Mrs. John Herder, Mrs. Judith Tunison, Mrs. Benjamin 
Smith, Mrs. Maria Elmendorf, Mrs. John Schenck, Mrs. Isaac 
Cubberley ; and also three young persons who gave hope in 
their death, Nathaniel Wilson, Peter Saums, and Emma 
Creusen. 

I have no means of ascertaining how many funeral sermons 
I have preached in the thirty years now past, nor during the 
last five years, as I have not kept a full record ; "but considering 
the number of families embraced in the conore^ation, it has 
not been large. Indeed, for the last few years the mortality 
among our people has been remarkably small. God has pre- 
served us from any plague or pestilence, and even from the 
ordinary measure of mortality, to an extent which is remarka- 
ble, and indicates special favor. 

And yet, when we come to recollect all that are among the 
dead, the thought becomes impressive in the highest degree. 
With a few exceptions, all the heads of families who were here 
thirty years ago are here no more ; the households are chang- 
ed, the names of whole families blotted out, properties distri- 
buted and sold,, and a new aspect silently thrown over this 
house not only, but over this entire community. To my own, 
mind, this is one of the saddest realizations of this day. I 
seem to stand here between the dead and the living, and my 
heart is rent between them. The lost are as numerous as the 
remaining ; and although the living have my attention, the 
dead are engraven upon my memory, and will never be for- 
gotten. They even seem, in not a few instances, to have left 
no equals behind them ; but this, I know, is perhaps on account 
of their age and their longer experience in divine things, more 
than in any essential difference in character or depth and de- 
votedness of piety. When the generation now occupying the 
stas;e of action shall have added the wisdom and maturity of 
years to their other excellent qualities, we shall hope to see 
them worthy of their sires, and even improved by the privi- 
leges which they have enjoyed. It is one of the fond weak- 
nesses of age to exclaim, " the former things were better than 
these," whereas in reality they are often not so good. The 
memories of youth leave a golden tinge upon the scenes of 
former life, which, like the light of the morning, clothes every 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



101 



tiling in roseate hues, but in reality it is only the rising vapors 
and the imperfect light which occasion the deception. When 
the sun has risen up into the mid-heaven the delusion vanishes, 
and every thing appears in its natural colors. So experience 
rectifies many of the sanguine expectations of early life. In 
all its stages, experience has many stern realities, and we all 
come to know them soon enough for our comfort. For our- 
selves, we can not to-day, even by the force of imagination, 
bring back the hopefulness of thirty years ago ; and yet though 
less sanguine, we are not less resolute in the prosecution of the 
work before us. We may not expect so much success, but 
then we know we are not as liable to be so largely deceived as 
we once were. We trust less to profession, but we expect 
equally much from principle. We know the weaknesses of 
human nature, but we also know the strength which true piety 
gives to every excellency of character, and how much we can 
trust a man, in whose heart religion is a reality, and not only 
a name to live. The larger the number of such members 
which a church embodies in her communion, the more comfort 
a minister will find in his intercourse with them ; and it is no 
loss in either aspect to have a time of sifting come ; the 
chaff is only separated from the wheat, and the tares rooted 
up which choke the growth of the genuine grain. Such times 
we have had, and we have found occasion to rejoice after they 
had passed over. We shall have them again, and in anticipa- 
tion we say : 

O God ! do thou thy righteous will ; 
We will lie still till thou fulfill 
Thy wise design ; 'tis but the dross 
Which we, in fear, regard as loss ! 

Gold must pass through the fire before the pure metal can 
be drawn forth in all its shining lustre and value. Surely we 
have reason to be thankful that so much even yet remains, 
which we hope the refiner will pronounce genuine ! 

I know well in how many houses there have been experi- 
enced sore afflictions, for it has been my duty to " comfort the 
mourners," as well as to " rejoice with them that have found 
occasions of joy." Nor has my own lot in this respect differed 
from yours. Sad bereavements they have been, indeed, in 
' 7 



102 



MEMORIAL SERMOXS. 



their best aspect to all of us ; and my dead sleep beside your 
own in yonder cemetery on the hill-side. Imagination often 
lingers around that spot, and calls up the form and lineaments 
of the departed as they once appeared, when the music of their 
voices made my home cheerful and their beaming counte- 
nances indicated the joys of their daily life. It is not a spirit 
of repining that brings these scenes back so often, but only 
the lingering of an unquenched affection, which time has no 
power to destroy. I hope to see them in the habitations of 
the blessed, and endeavor to wait in patience until the years 
of this pilgrimage are ended, and its toils have ceased. Until 
then, to hope on, hope ever is all that can be done. \Ye have 
long since ceased to expect our life to pass away as one long, 
bright summer day, without clouds and without storms. It is 
not in such an aspect that the Scriptures represent it, nor is it 
such that experience proves it. As long as sin continues in 
the world there will be suffering ; and as long as sin exists in 
our hearts, it will produce there its bitter fruits. " Many are 
the afflictions of the righteous but the promise is added, 
" The Lord delivers us out of them all." In God's people 
they produce the peaceable fruits' of righteousness, but in the 
wicked hardened impenitence and a fearful looking for of 
wrath and judgment to come. A true Christian will be more 
anxious that the fruit should be unto life, than that he should 
be entirely exempt from their pain. 

3STor would we attempt to produce the impression that our 
life has been entirely exempt from trials of another kind. We 
have been happy in the attached friendship of many of our 
people, but we do not pretend that we have not suffered from 
the want of it in others. Endeavoring to adhere to principle 
and to be faithful in the pursuit of right, we have more than 
once been brought into conflict with selfishness and prejudice. 
Passion has not been restrained within the limits of propriety, 
nor outrage avoided. But we are bound in justice to say, that 
those upon whom we really depended have never deceived us, 
nor proved recreant to the confidence which we reposed in 
their Christian character and integrity. Indeed, there has, 
even in this respect, been less disappointment than many may 
have imagined ; for we have always known who were worthy 



MEMORIAL SERMOXS. 



of trust and wlio were not. All men are not endowed with 
" truth in the inward parts." There is a weakness of cha- 
racter, however honest it may be, which never can he safely 
trusted; while, at the same time, there is also a firmness which 
never can he trusted too much. A true man is a friend al- 
ways, but weakness is vacillating, and subject to the sway of 
every wind that blows. In the forest there are a few sturdy 
oaks which even the whirlwind assaults in vain ; but the supple 
sapling bends even before the passing breeze, while the bram- 
ble has no strength at all. It was not to be expected, when 
passion has been so deeply stirred up as during the last few 
months, that its wild vagaries would not be reckless and un- 
reasonable. I have this, however, to say, that I have studied, 
in all things, to have a conscience void of offense toward God 
and toward men ; and I have done nothing that I would not 
do again under the same circumstances, and therefore express 
to day no regrets, nor do I promise a different course. I have 
preached the Gospel, and I mean in the future to preach no- 
thing but the Gospel. I can not do any thing else under the 
sense of responsibility which I feel, for I know " woe is me if 
I preach not the Gospel." I can not walk by another man's 
rule, nor graduate my sense of duty by another man's mea- 
sure. I do not hold myself up as a guide to others, but endea- 
vor to act according to the light which there is in me. I fear 
no man, and call no man master ! Before God and conscience 
I stand self- approved ; and I mean to stand there at all events. 

But I am not so self-sufficient as to suppose that I have 
committed no faults, and fallen into no mistakes. "What I 
repudiate is intentional wrong ; what I deny is the weakness 
of insincerity, and the wickedness of pretending to be what I 
am not, in any relation or responsibility. 

But it is time to pass on from these personal allusions to 
myself, to things that are of far higher importance. I see 
here to-day individuals who were here when I came, in youth 
and inexperience, to assume the pastoral charge of this impor- 
tant church. I have preached Christ to these individuals 
faithfully, and with all the arguments and energy which Got! 
has given me and enabled me to employ ; but in vain. I see 
them to-day unreconciled to God, and as little prepared for 
death and eternity as when my ministry commenced. Thirty 



104 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



years of profitless attendance on the ordinances of the sanctu- 
ary is an appalling reflection ! It brings ivp a long array of 
misspent Sabbaths and misimproved privileges ; and these are 
to meet you at the judgment-bar. How will you answer to 
God and your conscience for such a vast evil ? How will you 
reconcile this to your conscience when you come to die % The 
reflection which is forced home upon my mind, from this fact, 
is one of the saddest of this day. For your good I have at 
least labored in vain, and spent my strength for naught ; but 
I take you yourselves to witness this day, that I am free from 
the blood of your souls. I have not withheld from you any 
part of the counsel of God. I have warned you, expostulated 
with you, and entreated you ; and I warn you again, and now 
beseech you to give attention to the things of your peace. 

Let me inquire here what it is that has kept you back from 
Christ ? You know there is no other salvation, and you con- 
fess this by coming here from Sabbath to Sabbath to hear the 
Gospel. But the hearer of the Word is not saved ; only he 
that obeys enters into rest. Your hearing will not secure to 
you the benefits of Christ. Obedience is your life. Many 
hearers of the Gospel will, in the day of accounts, be adjudged 
as worthy of the sorest condemnation, because they knew the 
will of God, but did not obey him. 

How shall I convince you and bring you to a decision ? I 
know of no arguments which have not already been employed, 
of no motives that have not already been presented, of no 
entreaties which have not already proved in vain. What can 
I do 1 If tears would avail, I would willingly shed them in 
rivers from mine eyes. If you would listen to us, we would 
gladly come down from this sacred desk, and take hold of you 
and drag you to the foot of the cross. But this would not 
avail. It is the motion of your own heart, arising out of a 
spontaneous desire, that is needed. When you feel this and 
put it forth, you will be near the kingdom of heaven, and 
until you do feel and put it forth, even an angel could not 
save you. Hasten, then, to embrace the Saviour offered to 
you freely. Only believe, and you will know the joy of sin 
forgiven, and the peace that passeth all understanding. 

I have now only to thank my kind friends — true friends, 
always friends, for their affectionate attachment to my person 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



105 



and ministry. Their encouragement lias been my reward 
during this long and difficult service, and upon them I rely in 
the future. How long Providence will allow me to continue 
to minister to you in holy things, I can not to-day foresee nor 
determine. All that I can say is, that I will cheerfully labor 
on, as I have done, until my work is done ; and when it is 
done, no one will be more rejoiced to cease than I shall ! I 
have devoted to your spiritual instruction the cream and flower 
of my life. The increase of years may give more experience 
and wisdom, but it can not bring back the vigor which lias 
been spent, nor the energies of youth which are wasted and 
gone. I do not expect to learn any new thing, nor to adopt 
any new methods of doing good. I am, in fact, -becoming 
more and more thoroughly convinced that the old wine is the 
best. I have received but one Gospel, and I can only preach 
what I have learned from the Scriptures and may yet learn 
from them. To exhaust the great theme would require a 
thousand lives, and we have only one to give in teaching and 
iu hearing, and that is short — oh, how much too short for the 
great work laid upon it ! I can not even promise to try to do 
any thing different from what I have done, for I do not be- 
lieve I shall see reason to change opinions fixed so long, and 
can not on any account, or to please any man or party of men, 
consent to do what I do not in my heart believe to be right. 
And as to being dictated to, I am entirely too old for that ! 

In conclusion, then, I cast myself upon the care of Provi- 
dence and the affection of my friends, thankful that I have so 
much faith in both, because neither has ever yet failed me. 
What I can, I will endeavor to do in the fear of God and with 
an earnest spirit. What I cannot, I know no one will be dis- 
posed ever to expect, i Let us cast ourselves upon Providence. 
God has blessed us, and God will bless us again. And now 
may the blessing of the God of Jacob, whose covenant faith- 
fulness hath never failed those who put their trust in him, 
come upon you with a fulness of power and a richness of com- 
munication which shall cause you to abound in all things, and 
make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the 
work of the Lord, and then bring you safe into his kingdom, 
through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory, forever and ever. 

Amek. 



THE SEVENTH MEMOETAL SERMON. 



Preached October 27th, 18G7. 

FORMER THINGS TO BE REMEMBERED AND EMPROVED. 

" Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old." 
— Isaiah 43 : 18. 

TnE prophet, by divine direction, is reproving the people 
for their numerous sins of forgetfulness ; and he has, in what 
lie says, special reference to their propensity to idolatry. He 
considers it as having its origin in a failure to remember what 
God had done for them in Egypt, in the wilderness, and in 
Canaan. Surely he had given sufficient evidence that he was 
the supreme God — greater than any of the idols of the hea- 
then ; and if they had only remembered their own history, 
they would have known better than to fall away to idols. No 
idol-god could possibly present so many claims to obedience 
and service as the Almighty presented, in his own behalf, to 
the people he had chosen, defended, and settled in the inheri- 
tance promised to their fathers. They had only to recall the 
facts of their own history to become perfectly satisfied of this. 

This is, in fact, a duty which every one owes to himself. 
" The years of the right hand of the Most High" are precious 
mementoes. There are enough of them in the experience of 
every church and every individual to form a rich treasure, 
from which to draw abundant lessons of instruction, encou- 
ragement, and admonition. Life repeats itself with certain 
variations and improvements ; but the great facts and the 
principal experiences have a certain uniformity, always suffi- 
cient to enable us to anticipate what will be from what we 
know has been. This is necessarily so. God is the same, and 
humanity is essentially the , same likewise. The variations 
which are found in the action of the one upon the other are 
only what belong to times, circumstances, and relations ; and 
they form a small part, exceptional to the unity and the uni- 
formity. Political foresight, sagacity, and prudence are only 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



107 



the results of a wise judgment, formed after tin's uniformity 
and variation have been well considered, compared, and 
weiglied. 

Hence it becomes an important duty to " remember the 
former things." They have instruction in them which is 
valuable, and which we need. The most complete idea of 
imprudence and rashness is forgetfulness of the past, and a 
disregard of the lessons of experience. An imprudent man is 
self-opinioned ; a rash man is heedless ! Both throw away the 
lessons of the past, and trust to their own sagacity. Both 
reject the instruction of a teacher wiser than they are them- 
selves, and hence both err proverbially, and lead those astray 
who trust in them. Indeed, it seems to be a misimprovement 
of the faculty of memory to refuse the lessons of experience; 
and it is difficult to say why it has been given, if not for this 
purpose. 

This is, to me at least, a day of memorial. It is thirty-five 
years now since I came here and preached my first sermon as 
the pastor of this church. They have been eventful years, 
and their memory to me is deeply impressive. If I had known 
all that was before me, it is questionable whether I would 
have had courage to undertake the work I have done, or to 
meet the trials I have met. I do not mean to be understood 
as saying or believing that either have been greater than ought 
to have been expected. Only I had but little experience then, 
and was therefore as sanguine as inexperience habitually is ; 
hoped more than I have since learned to hope, and attempted 
more than I would now be willing to attempt. 

There are but few here to-day who heard that first sermon, 
and have gone with me through all these years. If they were 
all here, I might appeal to them whether I have not been 
faithful to the promise made " to know nothing among them, 
save Jesus Christ and him crucified ;" * whether I have not 
preached the Gospel " in season and out of season whether 
I have not gone " from house to house*' preaching it ; whether 
I have not " exhorted, reproved, rebuked, with all long-suffer- 
ing and gentleness." I have not " withheld the truth," nor 
" dealt treacherously with it," nor " daubed with untempered 

* Tliis is tlie text from which tlie first sermon was preached. 



108 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



mortar," nor " liandled the word of God deceitfully." I have 
not forgotten that the human heart is deceitful, that it fears 
the truth, and is full of all unrighteousness. I have never ex- 
pected ungodly men to love the truth as I preached it, and I 
have not sought to gain their influence and friendship by a 
sacrifice and betrayal of the truth. I know but too well that 
converts who are only nominally such, made from interest, are 
of little worth, and that the time will come, and come soon, 
when they will need to be more converted. Changes there 
will therefore be ; fickleness in man is proverbial, and those 
who are hot will grow cold. Yet I can not say that I made 
my account for all that has been, for I did not know men as I 
now know them, and thought of them far more favorably 
than I have since learned to think. Favor is deceitful, pro- 
fessions are liable to be forgotten, and ingratitude is one of 
the most common sins of our weak and corrupt humanity, and 
ministers know as much of it as any other class of men. But 
there is one thing I know and can testify to : hitherto the Lord 
hath helped me. I desire to thank him to-day for his help, 
and pray that the memory of it may strengthen my faith and 
increase my steadfastness. It has been seasonable, kind, and 
ever present ; and because it has been such, I erect this Ebene- 
zer to-day, and inscribe upon it, ' ; The Lord is my helper." 
Blessed be his name, he has enabled me continually to " trust 
and not be afraid." 

The ministerial work is a great work. It is not appreciated 
by the world as it ought to be. The Christian minister finds 
but little sympathy from men who are not in heart the disci- 
ples of Christ. Hence he is obstructed in many ways from 
going forward in his efforts to do good. It does not cost a 
great deal to maintain the church, but no money seems to be 
so grudgingly paid as that which is given for that purpose ; 
and many a zealous minister spends all his life in labors to 
promote the spiritual and temporal welfare of his fellow-men, 
while every year he is obliged to take from his private income 
to meet his wants and those of his family. This is expected 
from no other class of men, and exists in no other official rela- 
tion. The laborer is worthy of his hire ; and if he labors at 
the altar, it is right, and Christ gives him authority, that he 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



109 



should live from it. But there are even Christian men who 
would be willing to leave both the altar and the priest to 
maintain themselves, and still expect to be served as faithfully 
as if they did their whole duty. 

If this arose from a misunderstanding of their responsibili- 
ties, it would be more excusable than it is ; but it is too often 
to be traced, not to ignorance, but a base love of pelf. But 
that man who loves the world so much, and is so greedy of its 
gain as to let the cause of religion suffer, surely can have but 
little to expect when God comes to judge him ! It is wisdom 
as well as piety to " make to ourselves friends with the mam- 
mon of unrighteousness, that when we fail they may receive 
us into everlasting habitations." A treasure laid up with God 
will bring us the largest and the most satisfactory revenue of 
any investment. There it neither cankers nor rusts, nor is 
there danger that it will witness against us at the judgment- 
bar for having been unrighteously withheld from the cause of 
piety and human well-being when they both demanded it. 

The relation of the Christian minister to the welfare and 
advancement of human society is most intimate and most im- 
portant. His instructions and influence, even in an economi- 
cal point of view, can not be parted with without loss ; just 
as any community becomes irreligious and vicious, its material 
interests suffer, and its necessary expenses are increased. It 
is far cheaper to maintain the church than the poor-house and 
the prison ; and to prevent vice is far better than to punish it. 
From doing the one or the other you can not escape. The 
inconsistency is, that so many men enjoy all the benefits of a 
public ministry which others maintain. Even in the church 
there are some men who attempt to have all the comfort and 
spiritual power of religion, -without any expense and without 
denying themselves. It is a vain attempt, and, in common 
with other schemes involving dishonor and dishonesty, never 
succeeds. "With. God we must, at least, be candid. 

In the period through which my ministry has extended in 
this congregation, I have seen many things which have an 
intimate relation to these reflections. I have seen the course 
in which prosperity flows, and the course in which it does not 
flow. I have seen families passing away, and others rising up 



no 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



and becoming strong. I have seen wealth, and influence, and 
an honorable name sacrificed, and others coming forward to 
stand up in the vacant places. I have learned that good prin- 
ciples, industry, and piety are a safer and better inheritance 
than any worldly position or paternal excellency. I have seen 
a thousand instances to prove the truth, of the wise man's re- 
commendation, " Train up a child in the way he should go, 
and when he is old he will not depart from it ;" as well as the 
converse, that improper training, or the want of it, is a prepa- 
ration to follow the broad way that leads to destruction. The 
generation which has passed away has left many important 
lessons which the living would do well to heed. There were 
good men among them, who " fought a good fight " and " wit- 
nessed a good confession." They loved this church, and did 
what they could to promote its growth and prosperity ; and 
their reward will be great in the kingdom of God. The savor 
of their godly life is " like ointment poured forth." We re- 
member them with pleasure. 

This church has long been favored in having so many men 
of noble endowments and eminent gifts among its members. 
They have given it a power at home and a name abroad which 
is at once honorable and advantageous. But alas ! many of 
them are no more. "We have mourned their departure, and 
felt how much we had lost when they were taken. In some 
instances their places have been well supplied, and in some 
not. But, upon the whole, the church has really advanced in 
her material and spiritual interests from year to year. Con- 
gregations have grown up around us, mostly from those who 
were once attached to us ; but our numbers have not been 
diminished. Not a single year has ever occurred, except when 
the second church was organized, in which the increase of 
members in communion has not been more than the loss from 
all sources. In this way, in the formation of new churches, 
by creating other centres of influence, more good has been 
done, without entailing on us any serious loss or inconveni- 
ence. In fact, if we consider how many new congregations 
have been almost entirely formed out of our church, its con- 
stant and almost uniform increase is one of the completest 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



Ill 



evidences that God lias been with us and blessed us from year 
to year, that could be given. 

During the thirty-five years which have passed, there have 
been received into the communion of this church 698 members. 
This amounts to 100 in every five years, and more than 20 
each year — a number which, though not large for any one 
year by itself, is yet remarkable when it runs through 35 
years, and shows clearly that the Holy Spirit has been among 
us continually, hovering like a holy dove over our habitations, 
and sending down his converting influences, now on one and 
then on another, to bring them to God. The largest number 
in one year was 63 ; the smallest 4, the year succeeding the 
division of the church by the organization of a second church. 

The increase of which we have been speaking is all the more 
important and encouraging, from the fact that it has been emi- 
nently a home-increase. We have been glad to welcome those 
who came to us from other communions, and some of them have 
been important accessories, both in their character and influ- 
ence ; but the number is small in comparison to that which 
shows how the Word has wrought, and the ordinances have 
been blessed, among those who have grown up in the church 
as her own children. 

The occasions for suspension from the communion and for 
the exercise of the Christian discipline, have also been remarka- 
bly few. There has been " a falling away," but it has been 
an exception always, and recurring at such long intervals as 
to show clearly that the conversions have almost always been 
genuine and of a saving character. Consistency has been 
maintained in almost all cases, though a high state of spiritu- 
ality has not been as frequent as we have desired to see, or as 
the responsibilities of the Christian life demand. More zeal 
and prayer would have produced more usefulness, and resulted 
in bringing more to the knowledge of the truth ; and we should 
see to it that a higher scale of spiritual-mindedness is set up, 
and more strenuous efforts are made to elevate all to it, as the 
only state wdiich is acknowledged to be a fair sample of what 
every Christian should be. 

During the past thirty-five years, I have baptized 680 children, 
and 31 adults on confession of their faith. This is an evidence 



112 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



that to a good degree, at least, the ordinance of baptism has 
been regarded as a sacred duty which parents owe to their 
children, and that the ancient faith of our church, that there 
is a blessing in the covenant of which baptism is the seal, which 
it is important to secure, was still preserved among us. And 
we notice this fact, in this connection, with the more pleasure, 
because through the prevalence of false notions in regard to 
it, there are places where the baptism of children has come to 
be extensively neglected ; and we are not overstating the sub- 
ject when we add, greatly to the injury of the children them- 
selves, and to the cause of religion where such negligence has 
obtained. The promise was from the beginning, " to you and 
to your children the apostle includes children in the cove- 
nant, as the heirs of life together with their parents; and now 
if they are born in the covenant, and born subjects of the pro- 
mise of the convenant, who can say that the seal of the cove- 
nant ought not to be applied to them ? It is a wrong done to 
them not to apply it ; and there are numerous facts to prove 
that God does not favor the wrong or bless it. Prudence says 
to every parent, Throw every guard around your child that it 
is possible for you to employ ; store his mind with truth, and 
fill his heart and conscience with holy memories. The time 
will come when he will feel the need of them all, to enable 
him to resist temptation and breast the tide of passion which 
is bearing him onward to ruin. You do not love him well and 
wisely if you do not do it. Your scrupules may prove his de- 
struction. You had better lay them aside for his sake, if not 
for your own. 

I have also performed the marriage ceremony on 328 occa- 
sions, and, with a few exceptions, with the most happy results. 
It is not possible now to enumerate the f unerals which have 
been attended. For many years it was not usual to keep any 
account of the deaths which occurred, and so, until recently, 
no record was made. One thing is certain, however, that the 
ravages of the destroyer have been destructive and constant 
in the midst of us. Perhaps the results have not been more 
fatal than the laws of human mortality necessitate, but they 
have broken up many happy homes, left many hearts deso- 
late, and affected seriously, for a time, the prosperity and 



MEMOItlAL SKKMONS. 



113 



strength of the church of our God. Some of our best men, 
strongest men, most zealous and attached men, have been taken 
from us by death. Their counsels were always wise, their in- 
fluence was directed to do most good, and their hands were 
uniformly open when the interests of religion required them 
to give. Few churches have had so many devoted and pray- 
ing men to uphold the honor of the Redeemer's name, and 
bring down blessings from above. They lived to do good, and 
their memory is cherished. It remains in the midst of us as 
a divine odor, and makes it pleasant to recall it in our solemn 
services, it will be preserved long to their praise, and will 
never cease to be honored in the congregation of the children 
of God on high. 

"When Ave begin a survey of what was this congregation thirty- 
five years since, and go from house to house, the changes are al- 
most universal. On the south side of the river there are only 
four houses occupied as they were on the day when I commenced 
to minister here. On the north side of the river there are but 
three. In the village there are three, and one which belongs 
to the other church. And of the families who occupied all of 
them, there are only two which remain as they then were ; 
and all the rest are broken — many broken up entirely, and 
scattered. Happy homes they were — at least, many of them ! 
They had their altars, and the morning and evening incense 
ascended daily, far more generally than, I fear, it now does. 
They had not lost the power of that great outpouring of the 
Spirit which had just been experienced. There was an unc- 
tion and a tenderness in their piety which our colder and more 
formal spirit fatally lacks. They were "a generation fearing 
God and keeping his commandments." Their love was warm, 
because it had been kindled when the fires burned brightly. 
I should like to recite their names, but I can not trust myself 
to begin the catalogue. My veneration for them is too deep, 
too delicate, and too tender to permit it. 

They welcomed me here when I was young, and sanguine, 
and inexperienced; they cherished and supported me while 
they lived ; they were my friends, counselors, and protectors. 
My reputation was precious to them, and they guarded it ; my 
labors were appreciated more than they merited, and they ac- 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



eepted them ; my wants were anticipated and supplied, as only 
kindness knows how to supply. They did not regard it as a 
charity, but performed it as a duty, and expected to be blessed 
as they were blessing. I shall venerate them as long as I live, 
and hope to go to join them in the assembly of the blessed, 
where they are now praising God for the redemption of his 
Son. These are some of " the former things," and, if not 
16 old" are at least past. 

We now j)roceed to notice specifically some of the events of 
the last five years. In estimating the character of this portion 
of our history, it is important to consider the state of the pub- 
lic mind. It opened in the midst of that great convulsion, 
which will ever be remembered in our annals, because of the 
intensely interesting events which were crowded into it, and 
the important changes which have resulted from it. These do 
not belong to such a review as we now contemplate, except in 
the personal exigencies which they created. A great national 
excitement can not pass without affecting the church ; and this 
to which we refer embodied in it so many questions connected 
with morals and Christian sentiment that it shook almost every 
church to its centre. Ministers had to mark out a path for 
themselves ; and the difficulty in following it, when marked 
out, was found in the division of sentiment among the people, 
and. the uncharitableness with which each party, and almost 
every individual, regarded those who differed from them. We 
decided early, and adhered to our convictions, and have never 
yet seen any reason to regret the course we pursued. We 
could not pursue any other. We had promised in the begin- 
ning to " know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and him 
crucified." We claimed the right to have our private opi- 
nions, but publicly we adhered " to the law and to the testi- 
mony," and preached the Gospel and nothing but the Gospel. 
We allowed the right of private judgment in others, and en- 
deavored to maintain charity with all men, but insisted that 
the Sabbath was sacred to religion, and the pulpit only rightly 
employed when teaching it, and it alone. We were always 
sure that calmer hours would justify such a course, and results 
prove it to have been wise and safe. We have not been dis- 
appointed. To-day, as a church, we occupy a proud eminence. 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



115 



God lias blessed us, and we bless God that lie enabled ns to be 
faithful ! Our numbers have gone on increasing, our pros- 
perity has been uniform, and now we are at peace, and we are 
overflowing. The place is too strait for us, and the cry comes 
up on our ears every day, "Lengthen the cords of your taber- 
nacle and strengthen the stakes ; make room, that the people 
may dwell comfortably." 

We have received into our communion during the last five 
years 104 individuals. This is more than 20 each year, and is re- 
markable in the uniformity which it exhibits with the increase 
of the whole period of thirty-five years. The fact is, it could 
hardly have been expected, considering the state of the public 
mind. War is a dreadful evil. It debauches the public mind 
so rapidly, and demoralizes the public heart so extensively ; 
it occupies the public attention so entirely, and debases and 
destroys so many things that are holy. It is worse than the 
pestilence, for it sweeps so many young men into bloody 
graves, and corrupts so fatally those who live and return. 
We were, indeed, mercifully spared in being called to give so 
few to the slaughter, to the diseases incident to a camp-life, 
and the corruptions engendered there. 

That the church should have grown and prospered as much 
during the storm and the convulsion as in sunshine and in 
peace, can be ascribed to nothing so much as to the special 
favor of heaven. Let us remember it to the praise of God and 
to the confirmation of our faith. It proves that it is best 
always to do right, and leave the Almighty to defend it. He 
is " a munition of rocks," and his servants " never trust in him 
in vain." 

There have been only about thirty children baptized during 
the five years we are reviewing. This number is exceedingly 
small, and I am led, on this account, to call attention to it. It 
can be accounted for only in two ways : First, that a large 
proportion of our families are aged, or at least past middle 
life ; or, second, that there is a growing carelessness in regard 
to the importance of consecrating their offspring to God. To 
which of these is the fact which exists to be attributed ? We 
are disposed to believe, to neither the one nor the other exclu- 
sively, but in a measure to both. There is an active denomi- 



116 



MEMORIAL SERMON'S. 



nation who oppose infant baptism, and it would be strange if 
their perpetual efforts to excite attention to the subject did 
not produce some effect. Now, this ought to be considered by 
ns, and corresponding efforts made in resistance to such a great 
evil, for it is unquestionably a great evil. We could adduce 
facts to prove it to be such. It is seen in its effect upon the 
young, who grow up without that sense of intimacy of relation 
to God which a baptized child has, and are therefore more 
subject to temptation. It is seen in its effects upon parents, 
who imagine they are less responsible for the training of their 
unbaptized children than they would have been if they conse- 
crated them to him and promised to bring them up in his fear. 
We regard the growing indifference of parents, therefore, to 
the baptism of their children as a serious evil, and one which 
will soon make itself manifest in a laxity of life and a thought- 
less disregard, on the part of the young, to the duties of reli- 
gion. Youthful impiety is, in fact, becoming an alarming 
evil. Our young men seem to be imbibing principles and 
adopting practices among themselves which are rapidly de- 
praving them. If some remedy is not found and some restraint 
thrown over their courses, many of them are destined to ruin. 
There is no foresight required to predict this. But this is not 
all. The church needs these young men. They ought to be 
her Sabbath-school teachers, her choir-singers, her Bible-dis- 
tributors ; but instead of this, you meet them in the street 
with a filthy pipe between their teeth, scenting God's pure air 
with their vile breath, and making every thing abominable 
around them — making themselves every thing but what a 
young gentleman ought to be. 

The past five years, though filled with agitation and excite- 
ment in the outer w r orld, have been years of peace and har- 
mony in this church. The few who fell away in its commence- 
ment we could well afford to lose ; and their places have been 
supplied by those who were one with us in sentiment and feel- 
ius. The church has been growing more and more homo- 
geneous every year, and the bands that bind it together have 
become stronger and stronger. Our peace in the future seems 
assured, and will be perpetual, unless we foolishly and reck- 
lessly disturb it ourselves. This I am persuaded you will not 



MEMORIAL SERMOXS. 



117 



do. It is too great a sin to be the means of schism and strife 
and divisions in the house of God ; and if you do not do it, you 
have only to go on and prosper. 

Death has been busy during a part of this period ; and we 
have suffered more through his doings than through any other 
agency. We have lost largely in numbers, and those who 
were taken have been some of our strongest and best men. 
The green grass which grows on their graves is not as fresh 
as their memories will long be, and the sear and yellow leaves 
which are falling on them to-day are not as mournful as the 
thoughts which come over our hearts as we recall their many 
virtues, now forever faded and gone ! We could ill afford to 
lose them — so, at least, we thought ; but God took them be- 
cause their work was done, and their rest waiting for them. 
The prayers of some of them had edified us long ; and the 
example of all had been a testimony for good to all who knew 
them. They gave generously out of their means to every good 
cause, and were faithful in their clay and generation, and went 
to a treasure which was laid up for them before God. They 
were good men, and " goodness," says the poet, " is beauty in 
its highest state." His end is peace ; for the " angels are round 
the good man to catcli the incense of his prayers," and bring 
him with it into heaven. 

"And they fly to minister kindness to those for whom he 
pleadeth ;" and what a benefit and blessing to our poor and 
suffering humanity, to give wings to such swift messengers, 
and speed them on their errands of compassion, love, and 
humanity ! It is a vocation which the best might well covet, 
and make an effort to share. It is an honor more to be coveted 
than to shine in courts, or to be caressed by the gay. Yes, 

" Some tliere are, by tlieir good deeds exalted, 
Lofty minds and meditative, authors of delight 
And happiness, which to the end of time 
Will live, and spread, and flourish." 

It has been said that " doing good is the only action of 
man's life that is certainly happy, and Jliat can never return 
to him in sorrow or regrets." How happy, then, some of them 
must have been who did so much good ; and how glorious 
their reward must be before God, where they are now reaping 
the fruits of their labors in joy and praise. 
8 



118 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



Passing now from the memory of the dead to a consideration 
of the living present, we notice and remark the state in which 
we find ourselves. We have a numerous and increasing con- 
gregation in the midst of this thriving community, growing in 
intelligence and in wealth every day. We can not and ought 
not to shut our eyes to this great fact. It presents a problem 
which we shall he called upon necessarily to solve ; and the 
solution we give to it will affect us in spite of ourselves. As 
we have said, the place is too strait for us. lumbers are 
standing at our doors and asking to be admitted to a share in 
our privileges and our prosperity: shall we attend to their 
request or deny it ? There are fourteen families asking for 
seats in our sanctuary ; not for a single person, or for two or 
three, but seats to accommodate them as we ourselves are 
accommodated. It is said there is room for them all, and so 
there is. We could take them into our pews, and seat them ; 
but this is not what they require. They want pews of their 
own, for themselves and for their children. I have said once 
already that if we fail to give them room we shall make the 
greatest mistake w T e have ever made, and I repeat it again to- 
day. They may stand at our door for a little while longer 
and wait our pleasure, but we cannot expect them to continue 
to stand there. We would not ourselves stand there in their 
position long. If they come in, they will share in our pros- 
perity, and assist us in bearing the burdens which we bear. 
If we refuse them a welcome, they will carry it all to some 
other place ; and they will do it soon ! Can we afford to let 
them do this ? Are we prepared to see another congregation 
organized in this village, and growing up out of our strength ? 
I retain a vivid recollection of the struggle which a similar 
state of things entailed upon us when I first came here, and 
when, because the place was too strait, and there was no dis- 
position to widen it, the congregation broke up into two bands, 
each striving for a mere existence, almost, for years. We 
waited then until it was too late, and we may do so again. 
But I warn you of what is coming; and I beseech you to 
attend to it in time. There is danger in delay, and every 
moment increases it. We can not move too soon. It cost 
those who made the mistake before thousands to maintain 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



119 



their position, and it will not cost us any less. We must arise 
and build, or sit here and see others rejoicing in the prosperity 
which we refuse to appropriate to our own enlargement. 
Prudence never waits until the evil is upon it. It foresees it 
and provides against it before it comes. Brethren, be warned 
in time. It is not for myself I plead. I shall, probably, have 
finished my labors here before it comes ; but some of you will 
be here to repent at leisure, when repentance has come too 
late. We have already lost the summer which ought to have 
seen us to-day in this house, enlarged and beautified, with 
capacity enough to receive all who desire to share with us in 
our worship, our communion, and our praises. When the 
second temple was partially rebuilt, and then, because the 
people had become supine and careless, was left unfinished, 
the prophet was sent to cry in the ears of the people, "Is it 
for you, O ye, to sit in your ceiled houses, and this house to 
lie waste ?" We repeat this cry to-day in your ears, and say, 
Build, build, build ! You owe it to yourselves and to the in- 
terests of righteousness in this community; and he is not a 
wise friend who advises you to any thing else, or refuses to 
lend a helping hand. No, he shuts his ears supinely to the 
lessons which every day are being repeated to him louder and 
louder. 

The action of the congregation on Monday last is a step in 
the right direction. That step has been greatly needed, and 
will result in great good to the church. When we have be- 
come accustomed to it, we will never think of changing to the 
old form. For a short space of time it will have the effect of 
making room for those who are standing at our doors ; and 
the labor which has been required to keep the financial affairs 
of the church in a prosperous condition, can now be directed 
to other important ends by which all will be benefited. 

And now as to practical things. We need to cultivate a 
more liberal spirit. "The love of money," says the apostle, 
" is the root of all evil." This is true, and it is specially true 
in religion. "There is that giveth and yet increaseth ; and 
that withholdeth more than is meet, and it tendeth to poverty." 
Blessing others is the surest way of. being blessed ourselves. 
I have felt occasion to say before, and repeat it again, that we 



120 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



are faulty, not so much in not giving, as in not giving wisely, 
There is a principle in Christian charity ; there is the mani- 
festation of a spirit of obedience to God. Giving from excite- 
ment, under pressure, or from emulation, is not doing it as 
unto the Lord. We should give as we pray, as we deny our- 
selves, as we make sacrifices of obedience ; and a certain 
amount of giving is necessary to our own spiritual prosperity 
and growth in grace. A high state of religious enjoyment 
and comfort is inconsistent with a penurious spirit. It is 
natural that it is so, and it is, moreover, a fact. There are 
thousands who are not liberal enough to be rich, and numerous 
examples prove it. 

We need to cultivate a higher tone of religious sentiment. 
Progress, enjoyment, profit in spiritual things, all depend 
upon warm-hearted piety. There is a state of outward de- 
cency that is as good as nothing ; and there is also a state of 
fervent, elevated piety that brings with it almost all things. 
There are those who advance, and there are those, too, who 
hardly know whether they believe and love, or whether they 
do not. Our social meetings show the depressed state in which 
the spirit of piety exists among mjust now. It is not what it 
once was, nor what it ought to be. Like many other good 
things of the past, it seems to me sometimes as almost to be 
dying out, Those who once attended constantly all our social 
meetings have forgotten and deserted them. Our young peo- 
ple seem to find something to interest them more, and seldom 
come ; and some of those, even, who have professed religion 
seem to think that it is not necessary for them to attend any 
other than the Sabbath services. All this is an evil that needs 
correction, and until it is corrected the church will not pros- 
per as it ought, We beseech you to see that it is corrected. 

We need a refreshing of the Holy Spirit, This alone can 
communicate the power which converts, elevates, enlivens, and 
enlarges the church : and it is a heavenly gift ; a gift to be 
sought by special prayer ; a gift which God has special plea- 
sure always in bestowing, and which he never withholds any 
longer than it is necessary that it should be withheld in order 
that we may profit by it, Let us ask it. Let us agree to ask 
it in the faith of the promise, " If two of you shall agree on 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



121 



earth, as touching any tiling that they sliall ask, it shall be 
done for them of my Father which is in heaven." 

The youth belonsrins: to the congregation need to have a 
higher sense of the value and the importance of religion as a 
possession brought home to them by Christian example. It is 
the pearl of great price. It is the noblest possession and en- 
joyment to be found. It makes us rich in all things, and the 
want of it makes us poor, even though we should be rich in 
every thing else. Our young people do not seem to think 
this, or believe it ; but, on the other hand, appear to feel that 
the consideration of the subject may be postponed without 
any thing being lost. Some are so frivolous and so vain that 
they apparently scarcely think at all. Pleasure is their god, 
and they idolize it. Sin is sweet, and they live for it. God 
and eternity are afar off, and they neglect them. O foolish 
youth! How much repentance there is created a necessity 
for ; all this irreligion and wrong will be food for remorse, or 
the evil of it will pursue you through this world and into the 
next. 

We need a more general activity in the whole church. As 
long as only a few labor to do good, the work will be onerous 
and but little will be effected. In our Sunday-schools, in our 
prayer-meetings, wherever good is to be done, we need the 
activity of all our Christian men. There is room for them all, 
and there is need for the work of all. Christians are required 
to feel this, and occupy themselves until their Master comes, 
and they should make conscience of it. The greatest evil we 
have to struo-o-le with is the isolation in which the few active 
spirits are left. Our prayer-meeting is made up of a few, our 
lectures are attended by a few. Business is the excuse ; but 
remember, you will have to make time" to die ; and when you 
come to that solemn hour, you will feel that you ought to have 
made leisure to prepare for it. 

In conclusion, we are now to enter upon another division 
of time. What is before us I can not prognosticate or define. 
The generation which has passed away, I knew and trusted. 
The generation which now is, I do not pretend to know as 
well. We have the promise that instead of the fathers their 
children shall be. They are here, but will they be like their 



122 



MEMOEIAL SERMONS. 



fathers — as zealous, as enduring, as faithful ? God only 
knows, and the future only can determine. We are disposed 
to be hopeful, and trust in his name and grace, as we have 
hitherto trusted. We have faith that our trust will not prove 
to be " a vain confidence." 

Our life has passed beyond its bloom and its freshness. 
Its summer is past and its autumn is coming. The fresh 
strength of youthful days is gone, and the activity which once 
was, is no more. We can not, therefore, promise any thing 
which we have not given. Experience ought to teach wisdom, 
but it sometimes brings fear as w T ell ; and caution may become 
inactive. 

We have not discovered any new things, and we can not 
propose any new methods of doing good. We believe in the 
efficacy of preaching and prayer, and we do not believe in any 
thing else as better, or more likely to win souls, edify the 
church, and promote the glory of our Redeemer's kingdom. 
We expect to meet discouragements as we have met them ; 
and we hope to be able to surmount them. We do not expect 
to please all, or to win all. The Saviour is still in his thresh- 
ing-floor, with his fan in his hand, winnowing his wheat, and 
the chaff w T ill be blown off and rejected. Of the power of the 
Gospel to convert souls we never expect to despair. We in- 
tend to preach it, and mean to do it faithfully and in simpli- 
city. The power is from above ; " Paul may plant and Apollos 
water, but the increase is from God." We have adhered to 
the Gospel and preached it alone, and we mean to adhere to 
it in the future. We have found this course to be right and 
successful, and we expect to find it so to the end. 

Whether we shall live to see and to improve another anni- 
versary or not, is known only to God. I can not say that I am 
anxious to do so. The time will come when w T e shall cease to 
admonish and warn you ; but we protest before God that " we 
are free from the blood of all men." Those who have not 
heard us, nor attended to our earnest efforts to instruct and to 
save them, will soon go to their account, as we shall also to 
ours. We tremble to think how much they have misimproved 
and lost. May they yet turn and live! 

To a large extent the church which is here to-day is com 



MEMORIAL SERMOXS. 



123 



posed of those whom we have gathered in. They are the 
fruits of our own labors and prayers, and we have confidence 
in them that they will be our friends until death. We expe- 
rience daily great yearnings of heart that they may be faithf ul, 
become eminently pious, and find a rich and lasting reward in 
the kingdom of heaven. We have borne them on our heart, 
and we mean to bear them there, even in death ; and when 
the hour of separation comes we w T ill " commend them to God 
and to the word of his grace, which is able to keep them, and 
present them faultless, without spot, before the throne in glory." 

Over the waywardness of the impenitent we have mourned, 
and may yet have to mourn ; but we pray them to pause and 
think before it is too late. It will be an awful thing to be 
obliged to meet them and testify against them at the judg- 
ment-bar, and we appeal to them not to make this necessary. 
Repentance may yet be found by them all, and an entrance 
secured into the kingdom of life. What can we do for them 
that we have not already done ? How can we present Christ 
more effectually when all his attractions have already been 
exhibited ? We have unfolded all the depths of his love and 
the tenderness of his compassion ; what can f we do more ? 
Hear us, we pray you, and turn, that you may live. 

And now the moment is at hand when this protracted ser- 
vice is to end. We have spoken freely but kindly ; hear ye 
what we have said. We have drawn from the former things 
some of the lessons which they teach. Those lessons we com- 
mend to your serious and prayerful consideration. Another 
volume of accounts closes here, and a new one will be hence- 
forth opened. It is your business and interest to make it such 
as you will desire it to be, when you come to meet it at the 
judgment-seat of Christ. 

Brethren, I have done speaking to you to-day, but I can not 
conceal from my own mind, and ought not to conceal from 
you, that we are both to meet the consequences of this speak- 
ing and hearing at a future clay, and to that day time is roll- 
ing us on with ceaseless motion. We shall all soon be there, 
but what will it bring ? Are we prepared to meet it ? Will 
it be a day of joyful deliverance and of happy recognition, or 
will it be the contrary ? This is the important matter to us 



MEMORIAL SERMONS, 



now. I entreat yon to ponder it well. God lives. Eternity 
is coming. Tlie judgment is prepared. Heaven must receive 
ns, or perdition be our portion. God grant that we may all 
enter into tlie joy of the Lord ! We commend yon to God 
and to the word of his grace. There is but one hope of life. 
It is in Christ. See to it that you build on that foundation, 
and may God help yon ! Allien, 



THE EIGHTH MEMORIAL SERMON. 



Preached Tuesday, Oct. 29th, 1872. 

GOD W I T II US F O E T Y YEARS. 

" These forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee." — Deutero- 
nomy 2 : 7. 

These words were originally spoken to Moses, and were in- 
tended as an encouragement to him in view of future difficul- 
ties. We employ them as an appropriate motto, suggestive of 
many of the thoughts which crowd upon our memories, and 
press for utterance, in connection with these commemorative 
services. We feel' no one sentiment more deeply than the ac- 
knowledgment that " God has been with ns these forty years.'' 
We are perfectly conscious that nothing but his supporting, 
guiding, and instructing presence could have enabled us to do 
the work, support the burdens, and meet the responsibilities of 
such a protracted service in the position we have occupied. 
We are here, and we are what we are, and have done what 
has been done, because he has enabled us to do it. We ac- 
knowledge God's favor in all, and we erect here our " Ebene- 
zer," and praise his great and holy name ! 

The day is an anniversary, and we intend to devote it to a 
review of the work that has been done, and to the making of 
a record of God's gracious help. We are fully prepared to 
testify that " goodness and mercy have followed us all our 
days," and, when we think of our own agency, to exclaim, 
" X ot unto us, O Lord, but unto thy name, be the praise I" 
God has been kindly with us all these forty years ; and no 
one can feel more vividly than we do, that if he had nbt 
been " our helper," we could not have continued here so long 
to witness for him ! We are sensible of a great pleasure, and 
we enjoy a great triumph ; but, at the same time, we experi- 



126 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



ence emotions of tlie most varied and opposite kinds. Our 
joy and our triumph is mixed with sadness. Here, in the 
presence of the living, we remember the dead ; and " the dear 
departed ones," how many of them rise up to our view ! And 
they were so kind to us ! Many of them were such eminent 
Christians ; and they were so long our friends — our trusted 
friends ! 

The forty years which we are to review have been wit- 
nesses to some most mighty changes in the affairs of our 
world ; and the advances which have been made will ever 
continue to be memorable. Europe has changed its political 
aspect almost entirely. The spirit of liberty has been victo- 
rious in every field of conflict. Light has radiated upon some 
of the darkest places in the moral world. The work of 
missions has been prosecuted with marked success, and many 
almost unlooked-for results have been reached. The power 
of the Papacy has crumbled and dwindled away until it is 
almost nothing, and the whole world now is open to the 
Gospel ! 

The navigation of the ocean by steam, the transmission of 
intelligence by the telegraph, the system of railroad-travel — 
all fall within the limits of the last forty years. The Bible 
Society, the Tract Society, and the various missionary societies, 
though some of them had been organized, may still be said to 
have commenced their work, and to have become conscious of 
their strength, only as the action included in the last forty 
years has given them experience. The position which has 
been reached to-day is far in advance of that which they 
occupied at the commencement of the period of which we 
speak. In fact, a great work has been ^done and a great 
triumph won within the past forty years ! 

In our own vicinity the beginning of this period was the 
beginning of almost every thing. The canal connecting the 
waters of the Delaware with the Raritan, one of the most im- 
portant avenues of commerce in which we pride ourselves, and 
from which we reap most important advantages, was just 
then being opened. All the railroads across the State, except 
the one from Amboy to Camden, have been built since. The 
water-power which has occasioned the existence of another 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



127 



village in our immediate vicinity, already almost equal to 
our own, and destined, at no distant day, perhaps, to outstrip 
it, was planned and completed after this period commenced. 

The agricultural community around us was just beginning 
to awake to a sense of their advantages, and to the importance 
of improving their condition and their lands. Two bushels, 
and in not a few instances three bushels, of grain, are now 
gathered where the land then produced only one ; and the 
farm-houses, and all the appointments of the farmsteads, have 
been advanced in an equal proportion. The wealth and com- 
fort of the whole community have even been bettered to more 
than a corresponding amount. All the former evidences ot 
rudeness and discomfort have disappeared from the prosperous 
farmer's home, and a commendable refinement and taste have 
taken their places. 

At the time of which w r e are speaking, Somerville was a 
small village of some sixty-two dwellings, with the addition 
of the court-house, church, and academy. It had* three taverns, 
three stores, and perhaps five mechanic shops. There were 
sixty-two families living in it, embracing about four hundred 
and fifty souls. It had a single newspaper, and its academy 
had, in former years, proved a very great advantage to it, in 
the education of its young people, and in the diffusion of some 
taste for reading and mental culture. The inhabitants of 
Somerville were noted for their intelligence, the high social 
position which many of them occupied, the pure morals which 
prevailed among them, their excellent religious character, and 
their general prosperity and happiness as men and citizens. 
There was no village in the State which claimed more of all 
these social advantages, and none which enjoyed them in a 
larger and fuller measure. 

And yet, how different from the Somerville of to-day ! It 
had been built along the public road, afterward the turnpike ; 
and had but one street, on which all the houses, except per- 
haps six, stood. It had no sidewalks, no shade-trees besides 
the few single ones which had been planted as fruit-bearing 
trees ; and in winter the mud was sometimes literally fearful 
for pedestrians to encounter, The passage across the public 
square in front of the church would become, in certain states 



128 



MEMORIAL SERMONS, 



of tlie atmosphere, a veritable " slougli of despond females 
dared not attempt it. 

Tlie old clmrcli stood on this very ground. It was a mode- 
rate-sized brick-building, which had been enlarged by an 
addition of twenty feet in the rear, with a small cupola and a 
fine-toned bell. Internally it was exceedingly plain. The 
pews had straight high backs ; the wood- work around the pulpit 
was unpainted, the ceiling formed of pine boards ; and it had 
long been so crowded that the consistory had given up their 
places and consented to sit on chairs in front of the pulpit. 
Efforts had been made to have this building repaired, enlarged, 
or a new house erected, but had proved in vain. Every body 
saw and felt the inconvenience and insufficiency of the house 
for the proper accommodation of the people who assembled in 
it for worship, but all the remedies were in succession nega- 
tived by the popular vote. It was a strange infatuation, a 
wonderful want of a proper spirit ; but it was unconquerable. 
This unwillingness to enlarge and refit the church edifice 
finally led, in connection with another feeling existing at the 
time, to the division of the congregation and the formation of 
tlie second church. It was a providential influence, but cer- 
tainly no such idea was taken into account in the action had 
by the people. 

In this house, in 1832, there worshiped a congregation of 
at least two hundred and seventy families, with three hundred 
and twenty-eight members in communion, and thirteen hun- 
dred souls. On pleasant Sabbath days it was completely 
filled — even the galleries were crowded ; and the state of re- 
ligious sentiment was more earnest, active, and fervent than 
it has been at any time since. Many who had experienced 
convictions during the season of the great revival, were ma- 
turing as Christians, and at every communion season uniting 
with the church. This continued to increase our numbers 
for several of the first years of my ministry, and seemed like 
the gleanings of the great harvest. 

The organization of the second church was effected entirely 
out of individuals who had been attached to this congregation, 
and at the end of the first year they reported seventy-six 
families as belonging to their communion ; and yet our church 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



129 



was not really affected in any permanent way by such a loss. 
It had in it still abundant wealth and strength of numbers, 
and it went on prospering. The strength in the number of 
families was less in one aspect, but its ability was quite equal 
in another ; and this the future has demonstrated. In 1852 
we reported one hundred and seventy families, and four hun- 
dred and thirty-four in communion; in 1882, one hundred 
and ninety families, and four hundred and fifty-six in com- 
munion ; and this year, two hundred families, and five hun- 
dred and twelve in communion. 

In the mean time, besides the second church organized in 
1834, the church at Boundbrook beginning in 1848, the third 
church in Raritan village in 1818, Branchville in 1850, each 
in turn took away from us some of our important families ; 
while the Methodist church organized in 1833, the Baptist 
church in 1845, the Episcopal church in 1851, either drew 
away from us or were the means of preventing some from 
uniting with us. Indeed, when we consider all the circum- 
stances, our constant growth and prosperity is not a little 
wonderful. It shows us that diligence, carefulness, prayerful- 
ness, with a study of " the things that make for peace," will 
never fail in obtaining a blessing from the Lord. We have 
given from our own to increase the strength of every church 
around us, while we have been growing in strength ourselves ! 
The one fact that in 1832, with two hundred and seventy 
families, and after the wonderful ingathering of the great re- 
vival in 1822, bringing into the church more than three hun- 
dred members on confession of faith, there were only three 
hundred and twenty-eight in communion, but now, with two 
hundred families, we have five hundred and twelve members 
on our records, is, in itself, a sufficient warrant for all that we 
claim ; and, if we add to this number the three hundred and 
ninety-eight members of the second church, and also the two 
hundred and seventy of the third church, in all fourteen hun- 
dred and eighty, we shall have the fact of the general prospe- 
rity of our denomination in this favored community most 
abundantly confirmed. The blessing attendant upon the dis- 
pensation of the Gospel has been great indeed in all these 
churches. 



130 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



There is another fact which demands our recognition. This 
church has been a gushing fountain from which the Christian 
ministry has been generously supplied. We find on our records 
the following names : 



Jolm Leydt 1745 

Ferdinandus Frelinghuysen 1752 

Rynier Van Xeste 1753 

Elias Van Benschoten. . . 1769 

Matthew Leydt 1778 

Isaac Blauvelt 1778 

Conrad Ten Eyck 1792 

Abraham Brokaw 1793 

Isaac Van Doren 1795 

Jeliiel Talmage: 1813 

Isaac N. Wyckoff 1814 

Brogun B. Huff 1814 

Samusl K. Talmage 1818 

Jonathan F. Morris 1819 

Ferdinand Vanderveer 1820 

Frederick F. Cornell 1822 

Garret J. Garretson 1822 

James R. Talmage 1822 

Alexander M. Mann 1823 

Hugh G. Hedges 1839 

Abel J. Stewart 1840 

Jolm A. Todd 1840 

John Simonson 1840 

John Steele 1842 

George J. Van Xeste 1842 

Nathaniel Conklin 1843 

Warren Taylor. ...... 1843 

John Gaston 1843 

Augustus F. Todd 1846 

Peter Stryker Talmage 1846 

David K. Vandoreu 1853 

A. M. Quick 1861=32 



There are other facts requiring notice. The whole number 
of members in communion of this church, from the beginning 
on the 9th of March, 1699, as now recorded on our minutes, 
is fifteen hundred and twenty-nine (1529), and the whole num- 
ber received since October 29th, 1832, when I began my ser- 
vices here, is seven hundred and sixty-four, which is only four 
less than one half of the whole number received from the be- 
ginning; that is, the church has gathered from the world as 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



131 



many, lacking four, in forty years, as it had clone in one hun- 
dred and thirty -three years previous. I leave this fact to 
make its own impression. 

It is necessary also that we should state another fact. The 
proportion between those who have entered our church on 
certificate and on confession of faith has been as follows : Of 
the former there have been two hundred and sixty-seven, of the 
latter four hundred and ninety-seven. These numbers show a 
large preponderance of special spiritual influence in the pro- 
gress of the church. And, adding to this another fact, wo 
have the evidence of the constant presence of the Holy Ghost 
in our Sabbath-day assemblies ; and that fact is, that in our 
various communion seasons, during all these forty years, there 
has been but one without any one uniting with the church on 
confession of faith ; and even on that one occasion there were 
two who united on certificate. When I have mentioned this fact 
to other ministers, it has always been received with surprise. 
Indeed, I believe there are few churches in our land of which 
it is true, during such a protracted series of years. 

And we may as well in this place introduce the other 
statistics which belong to our subject. We have baptized 
seven hundred and twenty-three individuals ; of which num- 
ber six hundred and seventy-five were infants, and forty- 
eight adults on confession of their faith ; and we have con- 
firmed the matrimonial vows of three hundred and sixty- 
nine couples. We have had in our consistory, not a few times, 
individuals whom we had first baptized and then welcomed to 
the communion of the church. W e have married persons, 
baptized their children, received them into the communion, 
and again baptized their grandchildren ! In this way strong 
ties have been formed with many families, and as the effect of 
their existence, we have found here ever strong and faithful 
friends. 

Again, my pastorate in this church has been the longest of 
all who have preceded me. The first Frelinghuysen could 
not have ministered more than twenty-eight years, perhaps 
only twenty-six, as the date of his decease is not accurately 
ascertained. The second John Frelinghuysen died when he 
had been pastor only about three and a half vears. Jacob 



132 



MEMORIAL SERMOXS. 



Rutsen Hardenburgh continued his ministry for the space of 
nearly twenty-three years. His successor, Theodore Frelinghuy- 
sen Romeyn, lived to preach here only a little more than ten 
months. John Duryea, his successor, was pastor twelve years 
and some months. John S. Vredenburgh continued to serve 
the church twenty-one years, and died, leaving to his people a 
most fruitful legacy in the glory of his memory and in the 
power of his piety, which blossomed and matured in a great 
harvest over his grave. He was succeeded, after an interval 
of nearly five years, by Richard D. Yan Kleek, who continued 
his labors less than five years. The whole period comprehend- 
ed in these seven pastorates embraces ninety-four years ; and, 
deducting from the whole period of one hundred and thirty- 
three years the first twenty, which elapsed before the Rev. 
Theodore J. Frelinghuysen came here from Holland, it leaves 
as vacant years less than nine in the whole remaining period. 
This fact indicates a strong love for the ordinances of Christian 
worship as having prevailed among the people always, leading 
them to seek for another pastor as soon as death or other 
causes had removed the one who had before gone in and out 
in the midst of them. Strange as it may be, the longest 
vacancy was during and after the great revival. 

We may also remark how seldom their pastors have left 
this church for other fields of labor. Theodoras J. Freling- 
huysen, John Frelinghuysen, Theodore Frelinghuysen Ro- 
meyn, and John S.Yreclenburgh, all died in the harness in the 
full tide of their success ; only Hardenburgh, Yan Kleek, and 
Duryea left for other fields of labor. And why should 
they ? Here was enough to be done ; here work was appre- 
ciated when done. They were treated kindly, as pastors 
ought to be, and their wants were properly supplied by those 
to whom they ministered, and they had the enjoyment of 
seeing " the pleasure of the Lord prospering in their hands." 
The church was at peace with itself, and able to com- 
mand so much of the regard of the world as to control more 
or less the forms and customs of society, making it a pleasant 
field to labor in. It is an acknowledged fact that religious 
sentiment is more general, and religion is more universallv 
respected, in Somerset County, than in almost any other part 



MEMORIAL SERMOXS. 



133 



of our favored land. It is tlie effect of the earnest and evan- 
gelical ministry which the churches have enjoyed, and of the 
blessing which has rested upon their labors. In its character, 
this ministry, too, has been highly devoted and pure. The 
great discriminating doctrines of the Gospel have been fully 
and faithfully preached, and a high tone of piety has, from the 
beginning, been insisted on, as alone sufficient to give a good 
hope of life eternal. " Christ, and him crucified," has been the 
burden of all the preaching to which the people have been 
called to listen ; sensationalism has had no countenance here. 
Every one of my predecessors in this pulpit have been godly 
men, faithful men, and earnest men ; and their ministry has 
had a blessing resting on it, making their memory precious to 
many when they had ceased from their labors and entered 
into their rest. 

But I am forgetting. My theme is "forty years" and the 
help of God during all that time ; and in a dying, changing 
world like this, there is much to say of what has been, but is 
not now. The whole of one generation, and nearly one third 
of another, have passed away ! When I think of what was 
here on the first Sabbath when I began to preach to this con- 
gregation, and then look to see what is here now, I am almost 
overwhelmed. I remember them all, many of them affection- 
ately, but I do not see them. They were among the living 
on that day ; they are among the dead on this day ! Some 
of their children are here, but many of them have no repre- 
sentatives among us. Whole families are either extinct or 
scattered ! I believe I am correct in saying that there are 
only five or six men living who, as heads of families, were 
concerned in making out my call and effecting my settlement 
as pastor of this church. There are some who were not 
heads of families, and some who were not with us then ; but 
with these exceptions, I am preaching to-day to a people who 
have come to take the places of those who were here when I 
began my work. 

I have passed over in my memory the homesteads of that 
clay, and find on the south side of the river only three which 
have not passed into other hands ; on the east side of the 
village there are only two ; north of it there are none ; west 
9 



134 



MEMORJAL SERMONS. 



of it there are none ; and, in the village itself, only two, and 
one belongs to a member of the second clmrch. Such is time ; 
such are the changes which a few gliding years produce ; such 
are the changes which are coming in the future ! TVnen I 
think of it all I am almost in despair. The fathers, where 
are they ? and the children, where are they ? The promise is 
that " they shall be in the place of their fathers but, alas ! 
alas ! how many of them are not ! In not a few instances, 
- parents and children both are not ; in others, they have re- 
moved from among us to dwell elsewhere. But God's cove- 
nant has not failed, nor has his church been deserted. In his 
wise providence he has provided for all this. The church lives 
even when her members " are gathered to their fathers." God 
is not dependent upon one generation, or one set of men, to 
do his work. He holds the hearts of all men in his hands, 
and moves them when he requires them to do what has been 
appointed to be done. This is our confidence : and yet there 
is a duty incumbent on every generation. It requires them 
to do the w.ork of their calling in an earnest, manful spirit 
— to support the church, to provide for its enlargement, to 
maintain its ordinances, to secure it all the means necessary 
to enable it to do all its work effectually, in preaching Christ 
and converting sinners to God. Promptness in meeting all 
these responsibilities is not duty alone, it is also economy and 
wisdom. Procrastination and sluggishness are hindrances, 
and sometimes as ruinous in the church as in the business 
affairs of human life. 

In the families who worshiped in this church when I came 
here, there has been as much of a change as in the other things 
around us. All of them have had breaches made in them by 
death, except one or two ; all of them are broken up, except 
some five or six. There are representatives of some ; and in 
a few, one of the heads remains ; but the names even of many 
are no more spoken among us ! They have mingled with that 
great crowd which has passed through the gate of death into 
the spirit-land. We have the impression of their character 
and the fruits of their life, and hold them in honored remem- 
brance as good men and true, the friends of truth, the pillars 
of this sanctuary, and the honored examples of practical godli- 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



135 



ness ; but they are not among the living. We have known no 
better men than some of them were, and we shall honor their 
memory until our last hour has come. They were helpers in 
our work and in our joy. 

Our village has changed as much as the other things around 
us. Instead of the sixty-two dwellings of which we have 
spoken, there are now nearly four hundred, of which fifty-seven 
are the habitations of colored people. Instead of three stores, 
there are now forty-three stores and shops ; and the four hun- 
dred and fifty inhabitants of forty years ago have become at 
least two thousand. 

And, then, Raritan has grown, out of two houses, into a 
prosperous village containing more inhabitants than Somer- 
ville could boast then. So, too, the surrounding country has 
almost everywhere two houses where there was then only one, 
while the value of the lands is three times what it then was. 

Customs and habits of life have changed as much as the 
people. There were only three conveyances which came to 
our church-door which were any thing more than the common 
red farm-wagon with its linen cover, and these could hardly 
be called carriages. They had springs, indeed, and cushions, 
and calesh top, but otherwise were very plain and unimposing 
vehicles. The dress of the people was good, but simple. 
Fashion had very little influence in Somerville in those primi- 
tive but sensible days ; and its grand absurdities, since so con- 
spicuous and obtrusive, were almost unknown. The people 
were social and met frequently, especially the ladies, at each 
other's houses in the afternoon. We have memories of many 
" tea-drinking t.s" of those days, which are refreshing yet ! 
They seemed to us to be just what such social gatherings 
among Christians should be — hearty, without restraint, and pro- 
motive of good-fellowship and Christian affection without show 
or expense. There may be a little of the weakness of age in all 
this, saying " the former days were better than these but if 
there is, we are sure there was much in those days to praise, 
and not a little the loss of which is to be regretted. Advance- 
ment is not always improvement, or progress toward the good 
and the true ; and there is a good deal of what is now called 
culture that needs cultivation. I am sure our society has not 



136 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



increased in godliness, and I am not sure that it has really 
attained very much in any other desirable excellency. 

In the year 1835, in connection with "William J. Hedges, 
Leonard Bunn, and William B. Gaston, and others, I com- 
menced a weekly prayer-meeting on Saturday evening. At 
first it met in the houses of the citizens. It began at once by 
being well attended, and during a season of more than ordi- 
nary religious interest in 1837 and 1838, the rooms were often 
crowded, and a deep solemnity pervaded all the exercises. 
That prayer-meeting has continued until the present time. 
It has had no interruptions, except occasionally from stormy 
weather, during all this period; and I sincerely hope it may 
never be given up. It has been a fountain of life to this 
church. There are yet a few living who were present on the 
first evening when it met, and have almost always been present 
ever since. I know they feel, as I do, that it has been one 
of the great blessings of their life to have been able always to 
attend its sessions. When it fails, if it ever is allowed to fail, 
many other things will have failed, and the end of the greatest 
good of this church be near. Nothing has so much to do 
with the real prosperity of a church as the devotional spirit kept 
active and glowing among its members. When the pastor's 
hands are not held up by the prayers of his people, he soon 
comes to feebleness, and resembles the sower whose seed falls 
by the wayside or among thorns. Nothing else can compen- 
sate for the loss. His people may be active, charitable, and 
even zealous, but the blessing will not come down from heaven. 
There maybe full houses and eloquent sermons, but the renew- 
ing and sanctifying Spirit will not rest upon the sermon or 
the assembly. I feel, every day I live, more and more the 
encouragement which I have received, and the assistance which 
has been rendered to me in my work, by " the praying band," 
who have never ceased to stand by and help me in my work. 
Blessings on them ! They have been a comfort to me, and 
they have done much good. 

One pleasure I am providentially denied, the presence hero 
to-day — and he desired so much to be here, but could not — 
the presence of that one man who had more to do with my 
coming than any other one, and whose friendship and kindness 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



137 



lias been one of tlie perpetual comforts of my life. He advised 
my call, signed it, urged its acceptance, and, though living 
apart, has never felt as if he could suffer himself to he sun- 
dered from us. If he had been able to be with us, my gratifi- 
cation would have been increased greatly. I refer to ex- 
Governor Vroom. May he live long yet to enjoy his works 
of Christian devotion, and, when called to his rest, be joyful 
in the vision of glory ! A forty years' close friendship is 
almost a rarity in such a changing world as this, and I feel 
all the obligations of it every day more and more. 

I have, indeed, many obligations to acknowledge, and many 
pleasant memories to cherish, as the result of these forty years. 
In the associations which have been formed, in the social in- 
tercourse of my ministerial life, in the kindness done to me 
by my people here, I feel that I have laid up a treasure which 
will be pleasant to me even in the other life and in the 
heavenly state. I have always loved to dwell upon these 
memories, and expect to cherish them more and more, until 
the end of my days lias come. I have never intentionally 
offended any one. I have tried to be courteous and to do 
good to all, and I have therefore no apologies to make and 
no offenses to acknowledge. I have not been able to please 
all, and therefore have never been obnoxious to the woe pro- 
nounced upon the man of whom all men speak well. I could 
not do otherwise than I have done, and abide therefore in the 
consciousness of having intended right when others considered 
me in the wrona:. 

In conclusion, I have nothing special to announce as to 
the future. I am willing to preach the Gospel as long as God 
gives me strength to do it. It has been the work of my life, 
and I have loved it. I have tried to preach it simply, com- 
prehensively, and efficiently. It has been the Gospel as I 
have learned it and understood it, that I have preached. ~No 
one can say that I have ever held back the truth, or modified 
it, to please men. Honestly I can say that " I have not shunned 
to declare the whole counsel of God. r ' My study has been 
more to find things to profit than to please ; and I have 
preached nothing but the Gospel. Upon the whole, in look- 
ing over my past life, and the course which I have pursued, 



138 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



1 find regrets only in that I have not been able to abound 
more, and not in what I have earnestly tried to clo. I have 
not made myself a standard for others, and I have not suffered 
others to be a standard for me. I have felt that there was a 
sphere marked out for me, and I have been constrained to fol- 
low it, sometimes even in the midst of gainsayings. 

I have no idea to-day how much longer I shall continue to 
serve in my pastorate here. It depends upon Providence, and 
not upon me, to say when the service should close. When 
Providence indicates his will, I shall obey it. I have expressed 
a desire to continue and to see this day, and I have seen it ; 
and now I am in the hands of my Master, and I desire to have 
no will of my own, but only to follow his will with a cheer- 
ful, trusting heart ! 

I have confidence in those who have uniformly been my 
friends, that they will never urge me except to do what is 
right ; that they should act against me I clo not expect. I 
know my work is nearly done, and I hope to rest contented 
when the end of it has come. I dismiss all anxiety as it 
respects the future. It will be well ; and I hope to be able to 
say " it is well" whatever it may be ! 

But I have some anxiety about this church. I have labored 
for its good so long that I can not be indifferent to its future. 
It is a consecrated thing to me. I must charge you, on whom 
it depends, to be earnest, zealous, active, generous, and prayer- 
ful. I have sometimes thought that you would not under- 
stand what was for your best interests. I most earnestly hope 
that nothing but a wise and generous Christian spirit will ever 
characterize a church where I have preached a self-denying 
Saviour so long. Promptness in meeting responsibilities and 
providing for exigencies is always the wisest and least expen- 
sive policy. God loves a cheerful giver, and gives the most 
to those who find it in their hearts to give to him, and to the 
advancement of the kingdom of his dear Son. There is such a 
thing, and Providence indicates in a thousand ways that there 
■is such a thing, as " withholding more than is meet and it 
tendeth to poverty." If you deny Christ what belongs to him, 
lie will be very apt to deny you some of the things you have 
set your heart upon. A high standard of action is always 



MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



139 



most efficient, and a generous course with the church results 
always in the greatest good to the individual, as well as to the 
interest of the church. If I should he obliged to live to 
see this church, to which I have devoted so much time and 
labor, in any state but one of activity and prosperity, it would 
be a great grief to me. I charge you, to whose care it will 
soon be passed over, by your own devotion to Christ, and by 
your veneration and respect for your ancestors, to keep it 
always in a high state of prosperous activity. 

This church has always been like a watered garden. The 
Spirit has been present through almost all its years, and given 
efficacy to the Gospel preached in it ! All its pastors have been 
blessed in their work, and prospered in the conversion of souls. 
Its record in this respect is peculiar. Its first pastor had a 
great revival — great considering the day and the circumstan- 
ces. Under the second it continued, and under the third 
and fourth ; then came the great outpouring ; and now for 
forty years we have been reaping almost a perpetual harvest ! 
It is wonderful ! It is of God ! and it is the most effective 
argument to urge us on to diligence. God blesses those who 
wait upon him and labor sincerely to do his work ; and he will 
bless us if we are faithful, earnest, and active in seeking him 
and serving him. With this assurance as our encouragement, 
we close this memorial discourse by appropriating the words of 
another, as expressive of our sentiments and feelings : 

Church of my sires, my love to thee 

Was nurtured in ray infancy ; 

And now maturer thoughts approve 

The object of that early love. 

Linked to ray soul with hooks of steel, 

By all I say, and do, and feel ; 

By records that refresh my eye, 

In the rich page of memory ; 

By blessings at thine altars given, 

By scenes which lift the soul to heaven ; 

By monuments that humbly rise, 

Memorials of the good, the wise ; 

By graves forever sad and dear, 

Still reeking with my constant tears ; 

Where those in honored slumber lie, 

Whose deaths have taught me how to die. 



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MEMORIAL SERMONS. 



And shall I not, with all my powers, 

Watch round thy venerable towers ? 

And can I bid the pilgrim flee 

To holier refuge than to thee ? 

Church of my sires, my heart's best home ! 

From thee I can not, will not roam ! 

And now, may the God of the everlasting covenant continue 
to be our covenant-keeping God, and the God ot our children 
in all generations ! Amen. 



October 29th, 1872. 



THE EXERCISES OF THE FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY 



OF 

REV. DR. MESSLER'S PASTORATE. 



The Consistory of the First Reformed Dutch Church of Raritan, 
having determined to observe the fortieth anniversary of their 
pastor's settlement, had invited the presence of the neighboring 
ministers, especially of those who had been reared in this church, 
and other friends who would be interested in the event. Tuesday, 
the 29th day of October, was selected, because on that day of 
the month, in 1832, Dr. Messier preached his first sermon after 
accepting the call of the people. 

The weather proved propitious, the skies being clear, and the 
air genial and bracing, and calculated to elevate the feelings of 
all in joyful harmony with the important services of the day. 

The ladies had tastefully decorated the church — the pulpit 
especially having been wreathed with evergreens, decked with 
garlands of flowers. On the right of the pulpit was placed the 
date 1832, while 1872 was displayed upon the left. The Avord 
"Anniversaky" spanned the pulpit with a graceful arch which 
seemed suspended over it by an invisible power. The ladies 
were prepared with an abundance of good cheer to refresh their 
guests, and the choir added the influence of their musical skill to 
increase the pleasures of the occasion. 

At 10-J- o'clock, the church was well filled with an audience who 
manifested their deep and earnest interest in the important ser- 
vices of the day. Besides the ordinary attendants upon the 
church, there were many laymen present from other churches in 
Somerset and Hunterdon Counties, with quite a large number of 
clergymen. Among the latter were John F. Mesick, D.D., Pastor 
of the Second Church of Raritan ; Gabriel Ludlow, D.D., and 
Peter D. Oakey, of Neshanic ; P. M. Doolittle and Horace Doo- 
little, of North-Branch; William Bailey, of White House; John 
Gardner, of Harlingen ; William B. Voorhees, of Blawenburgh ; 
Charles H. Pool, of Bedminster ; R. K. Rodgers, D.D., of Bound- 
brook ; Paul D. Van Cleef, D.D., of Jersey City ; A. Mc William, 
of East-Millstone ; James B. Wilson, of Long Branch ; A. Messier 



142 



ANNIVERSARY. 



Quick, of Franklin; George J. Van Neste, of Little Falls; Na- 
thaniel Conkling, of New-Vernon; Augustus F. Todd, of Bloom- 
ingburgfa, N. Y. ; John Steele, of Paterson; John A. Todd. D.D., 
of Tarrytown, N. Y. ; John C. Lowe, of Rotterdam, N. Y. ; 
Frederick F. Cornell, Wm. A. Cornell, and Charles M. Jameson, 
of Somerville; John Garretson, D.D., of New-Brunswick; Gus- 
tavus Abeel, D.D., of Newark ; and Aaron Lloyd, of New- York. 

The choir sang an appropriate anthem as an introduction to 
the services of the day. The Rev. George J. Van Neste pre- 
sided, and announced the various exercises. The Rev. Augustus 
F. Todd invoked the divine presence and blessing. The Scrip- 
tures were read by the Rev. A. Messier Quick. 

The audience then united in singing the 471st Hymn, 
" Kindred in Christ, for his dear sake." 

The Rev. G. Ludlow, D.D.,then offered the following simple and 
comprehensive prayer : 

" Great God of heaven and earth, we come before thee in all 
our littleness and unworthiness. What a vast chasm there is be- 
tween thee and the most exalted of thy creatures, but especially 
between thee and us. Thou art from everlasting, while we are 
only of yesterday ! Thou art Almighty, and we are encompassed 
with infirmity. Thou changest not, while we are constantly 
changing in body and mind. Thou art holy without spot, but 
we are sinful in our nature and practice. Yet thou art the God 
of the covenant, the God of salvation, and especially the God and 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and for his sake and through 
him, our Father most condescending and gracious. Thus we are 
encouraged to approach thee. We are but atoms in thy almost 
boundless universe of worlds and creatures, and were we stricken 
out of existence, the space left would be small and easily filled 
by thy creative power. Yet thou wilt deign to look down 
upon us and hear and answer our petitions, and accept our poor 
defective services and offerings. We come not before thee on 
this interesting occasion for purposes of ostentation, vainglory, 
and display, but to acknowledge thy wonderful and unmerited 
goodness. We come, too, to profit by the experience of thy ser- 
vant — an experience extending through so many years in the gos- 
pel ministry ; and although some of us are somewhat older than 
he, we are willing to sit at his feet as little children and listen to 
his words of wisdom. We are willing to learn and add to our 
stores of knowledge while w T e live and have opportunity, perad- 
venture we may be better fitted for instructing those who are 



ANNIVERSARY. 



113 



committed of tliee to our charge and care. Lord help him to 
speak edifyingly. Thou hast distinguished the church and con- 
gregation worshiping within these walls, and their fathers be- 
fore them, with very special favor. Those of us who are far ad- 
vanced in life, have not only heard of the marvelous interposi- 
tion of the Spirit of grace in bringing many sons and daughters 
into thy spiritual family here, but have been eye-witnesses of 
what has been done. We give thee our humble and hearty 
thanks for all this. We have not forgotten it, and we trust we 
never shall. We give thanks to thee, O Lord ! for thy goodness 
to these people through an extended pastorate of forty years. 
We thank thee for all the instruction, warning, and exhortations 
addressed to them by thy servant who has so long broken to them 
the bread of life, and for the good results which his ministrations 
have been instrumental in producing. We thank thee for the 
additions, larger and smaller, made to the communion of this 
church at almost every communion season. We give glory to 
thy name in this behalf, for we know that whoever may plant or 
whoever may water, thou, O our God ! must give the increase. 

" We thank thee for thy goodness to thy servant and his family, 
through so many eventful and trying years. He has had, indeed, 
his dark days, but they have been few in number compared with 
his bright ones. Surely goodness and mercy have followed him 
thus far all the days of his life, and those days have been many. 
We trust that when the end comes (all this depends on thy good 
pleasure) he will dwell in thy house on high forever. Yet, 
though advanced in years, may he still be spared many years to 
be useful in this church, and in the church of his fathers, and in 
the church generally. May he through grace be enabled to bring 
forth fruit, much fruit, substantial, ripe, pleasant fruit in his old 
age, and may his rest be glorious, and thus may it be with all 
that are dear to him. Also grant to him, O God, many among his 
people who shall be jewels in his crown of rejoicing at that day, 
the day when the Master shall say to him, 4 Well done, good and 
faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.' 

" Command a blessing, O Lord, upon all thy servants Avho arc 
here to-day, and on all the people to whom they minister in holy 
things. We all feel our dependence upon thee, both as disciples 
and ministers of Jesus Christ. If it were not for the precious 
assurance which the Master has given, ' Lo ! I am with you al- 
way, even unto the end of the world,' we should be utterly dis- 
heartened. Look graciously, O Lord ! upon all thy ministering 



ANNIVERSARY. 



servants, and upon all the churches everywhere in our State and 
in our beloved land, yea, throughout the world. Thou seest how 
thy cause is struggling against opposition manifold, what giant 
forces are at work to destroy it utterly ! But thou hast said, 
Lord Jesus, that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, 
and thy word must and will stand, and ' when the enemy cometh 
in like a flood, thou wilt set up a banner against him;' so do, 

0 Lord God. Amen. " 
The loth Hymn, 

" Source of light and power divine," 

was next sung. 

The Rev. Dr. Messier then delivered his Eighth Memorial Ser- 
mon, which was listened to with close attention and deep interest 
by the audience. 

The Rev. R. K. Rodgers, D.D.,then read the 33d Hymn, 

" The Lord Jehovah lives, 
And blessed be my rock," 

which was sung by the audience standing. 

REV". DR. TODD'S ADDRESS. 

The Rev. John A. Todd, D.D., one of the ministers raised up 
from this church through the labors of Dr. Messier, delivered 
the following address, on behalf of his brethren, which was lis- 
enedto with interest : 

I need hardly say to you, Christian friends, how deeply I en- 
joy the privilege of being here in the old church to-day, and lis- 
tening once more to the voice of my loved and honored pastor. 

1 call him my pastor, for he is mine as well as yours, and perhaps 
I might say, so far as some of you are concerned, that he is even 
more mine than he is yours. He is the only pastor I ever had, 
and all my impressions, whether as boy or man, of what a pastor 
is, in person and office, are inseparably mingled with my ideas 
and memories of him. 

I can truly say that I never desired to have another, and that 
all my associations with him, as they often rise unbidden in the 
mind, are among the pleasantest recollections of my life. I shall 
never forget them, never lose their influence out of my heart, until 
that heart shall have ceased to beat. Or rather, may I not say, 
that when the heart has been hushed to rest, and the journey ings 
and toils of life are ended, those associations, as their influence 
will then be more clearly seen in the destiny of the immortal 



ANNIVERSARY. 



145 



spirit, will become more vivid and more delightful far than they 
ever can be here ? 

And so, too, as there is an association that binds me peculiarly 
to this pastor, there is also a kindred association that binds me 
peculiarly to this church. I was born here, baptized here, taught in 
the Sunday-school here, by that noble Christian layman and elder, 
Governor Peter D. Vroom, clarum et venerabile nomen, and I still 
have at home, as a cherished memorial of the past, the very Bible 
which he gave me as a token of his friendly interest, and an en- 
couragement to my heart. In this church I was received into 
the full communion of God's children, and here, on a bright Sab- 
bath morning in the early summer, I sat down for the first time 
at the table of the Lord. Through the influence of this pastor, 
and the kind words of sympathy uttered by members of this 
flock, I was led to turn my thoughts to the work of the Christian 
ministry, and when, in due time, the preparatory course was com- 
pleted, and I had received my certificate of licensure from the 
classis, my first sermon was preached in this church. The dear- 
est kindred I had on earth sat that day in the congregation, and 
I well remember how my mother — now, I trust, a partaker with 
the church triumphant in heaven — spoke to me afterward of 
the throbbing of her heart, and the tremulous feeling she had, 
as she saw me going up the aisle, and following Dr. Messier into 
the pulpit. 

Here, also, my father and mother held their membership, under 
the same pastoral care, as many of you know, almost up to the 
time of their death ; and though in the allotments of Providence 
their connection was necessarily transferred, in consequence of 
having changed their place of residence, yet they always looked 
back to this church and to this pastor with an affection that 
never changed. It was in this church, indeed — just there, in 
front of the pulpit — that I looked for the last time upon the face of 
my father, as he lay calmly sleeping in death. And never, until 
all that the heart holds dear shall fade out and be lost to memo- 
ry, shall I forget the words of comfort that Avere then spoken by 
this pastor, from Romans 6 : S, " Now if we be dead with Christ, 
we believe that we shall also live with him." Is it strange, then, 
dear friends, that with such associations binding me to this church 
and its minister, I should bear my humble part in the exercises of 
this day with an interest and a feeling which it is difficult for 
language to express ? 

This is the fortieth anniversary of the settlement of Abraham 



146 



ANNIVERSARY. 



Messier as the pastor of this church. Forty years ! How large 
a part do they constitute of an ordinary human life ! What 
changes have they wrought in this church, in this community, 
in this nation, in the world ! It seems like a dream. We can 
scarcely make ourselves believe that the reality is true. We 
wake up to consciousness, like the soldier who had been wounded 
in the head in battle, and yet lived on for years with a pressure 
upon his brain that made him insensible to the flight of time and 
the succession of passing events. But at last the surgeon's skill 
relieved him. And then, coming to himself, his thoughts wan- 
dered in a momentary bewilderment. " Where are we ?" said he. 
" Yesterday we were at Manassas. But where are we to-day ?" 
The whole intervening time was lost. He could not tell where 
he was, nor how the time had passed. We are like him. We, 
too, may ask the question, Where are we? But yesterday we 
were in the midst of other scenes, and now every thing is changed 
around us. The world is rushing on, and we are rushing with it, 
at such a fearful rate of speed that we have to stop and think be- 
fore we can tell where we are. 

Here is a pastorate of forty years' duration ! How strange a 
phenomenon it is in the midst of this changing world ! But not 
more strange than honorable alike to the pastor and the people. 
When I received the kind invitation to be present, and read the 
words, " The Fortieth Anniversary," they struck me so singular- 
ly that I began to wonder whether it might not be an intimation 
of the world's return to the good old Bible times. For there, in 
the Bible, that period of forty years is so frequently recurring as 
to suggest the idea of some particular sacredness, or some special 
Divine purpose in regard to it. Thus we learn that Moses spent 
forty years of his life at the court of Pharaoh, forty years in Midi an, 
and forty years in performing his great mission as the leader and 
lawgiver of his people. Thus we read that Israel wandered forty 
years in the wilderness, and that they were fed with manna from 
heaven through all the forty years they were there. And thus 
in other places, too, we have the period of forty years spoken of, 
as, for examine, to specif} 7 " the duration of David's reign. Why 
is it ? Does the period of forty years indicate any thing peculiar ? 
Does it intimate any thing like the special government, guardian- 
ship, and fatherly care of God ? If it does, then why can we not 
say that it has a parallel significance here ? Thereto? something 
sacred, something divine, about this long-continued relation be- 



ANNIVERSARY. 



U7 



tween one of Christ's faithful ministers and the company of disci- 
ples which the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls has com- 
mitted to his care. It is a relation that forms, and should form, 
the basis of precious memories and hopes and thanksgivings to 
all those whom its influence has tended to ennoble and to bless. 

Take the memories that grow out of this relation ; for it is to 
them that the day especially points. They are a priceless inheri- 
tance from the past. It is true, the office of the ministry has its 
labors, its cares, its privations, and its trials, and sometimes they 
are hard to be borne. But it has another side, too. It brings 
the minister into the most intimate and endearing relations with 
his people. There grows up a feeling of mutual interest, of mu- 
tual confidence, and of mutual love. And sanctified, as it often 
is, by a common Christian faith and hope, it leads to a genuine 
Christian sympathy, and a corresponding communication of moral 
support to each other, that should be ranked among the sweetest 
elements that are mingled in the cup of life. 

From such an experience a minister is always gathering up 
new facts, incidents, and impressions that go to swell the treasures 
of memory, and to bind him by enduring associations to his flock. 
True, some of his people may be dead, others may be living, but 
whether living or dead, the bond of connection still exists, and 
neither time nor eternity can destroy it. Think of the various 
scenes through which he has passed ; follow him in imagination 
on his round of weekly service ; and the effort may perhaps give 
you some idea of the memories that must be stored in his mind. 
There is the church, the prayer-meeting, the catechetical class, 
the afternoon or the evening lecture in the school-house, or in the 
home of some parishioner who has thrown open his doors and in- 
vited friends and neighbors to come in and hear the Gospel. 
Forty years of such service is equal to two thousand and eighty 
weeks ; or, to state it differently, it is equivalent to almost six years 
of Sabbath-days. What impressions they must have left upon the 
mind! But to all these we are to add the more private relations 
that connect him with families and individual persons — his social 
communion, as friend and neighbor, with those who compose his 
congregation ; his visits to the sick, the afflicted, the sorrowing ; 
his mingling in sad funereal scenes, where the drapery of death, 
and the solemn silence that reigns in the house of bereavement, 
are but the outward token of feelings too deep for the tongue to 
utter. How many such occasions must have been crowded into 



ANNIVERSARY. 



that period of forty years ! And there, too, passing from 
over the darker to the brighter side, from the tears of grief to the 
smiles and festal joy of marriage-scenes, are the bonds of memory 
that bind him to those upon whose union of hearts and destinies, 
for time, he pronounced the sanction and the blessing of heaven. 
What numberless points of contact there are where a minister's 
life glides on with the life of his people, and what a wealth of 
memories must they both gather up as the mingled currents of 
their history roll .on ! memories sad, tender, joyous, happy, now 
unsealing the fountain of tears ; now sending smile after smile 
over the face in rippling waves of mirth or pleasure ; now illumi- 
nating the eyes with that calm and beautiful light that never fades 
in the soul, the lingering brightness of " days well spent and 
duties well performed." God bless this pastor ! and may his 
memories grow brighter to the end, until, at last, they shall blend 
their beams in an evening glory like the glory of the setting- 
sun ! 

But if the pastor has his memories, so also do the j^eople have 
theirs. His are connected with them all; theirs, in turn, are con- 
nected with him. His radiate from a centre upon many points ; 
theirs converge from the circumference upon one. He has more ; 
they have less. But if the number is smaller, the greater will 
their vividness be. Think what memories this congregation must 
have of a minister who has served them, in all the various duties 
of the pastoral office, for a period of forty years ! Think what 
they would be, if all who were living when he entered upon their 
service, and all who have lived in the intervening time down to 
this hour, could be here to-day ! Each one would have his own 
peculiar memory of him. Each would refer back to him in some 
different circumstance or relation. This, in sorrow ; that, in joy. 
This, burdened with sin ; that, happy in a new-found Christian 
hope. This, coming for the first time to the table of the Lord ; 
that, bidding both pastor and church farewell, and turning away 
to seek a distant home. This, about to be united in the dearest 
bonds of domestic life ; that, fast approaching the gates of eter- 
nity, and waiting for the invitation from on high. And so on, 
through the almost endless catalogue of experiences, states, and 
conditions that give diversity to the lives of men. Suppose this 
congregation could gather up all its memories of its pastor, and 
of his faithful wife, performing her less conspicuous but most im- 
portant and honorable part, through these forty years, and write 



ANNIVERSARY 149 

them in a book, what a strange, mingled, interesting record it 
would be ! 

Let me give you a specimen contribution to it. Why it is, we 
do not always know, but there are some events, some circum- 
stances in every one's life, that leave a more enduring impression 
upon the mind. They seem to go with us, while others, in the on- 
ward march, are dropped out and forgotten. I, for instance, have 
certain memories in regard to this pastor. I remember that one 
day, when he was going to the post-office, and I was coming from 
it, he met me in front of the old store of William J. Hedges, now 
deceased, and spoke to me in regard to my soul, adding the kind 
advice to give my heart at once to my Saviour. I remember also 
going to his house one evening to see him when I had become in- 
terested in my salvation, and how, after giving me friendly coun- 
sel, he knelt down with me, and prayed for the Holy Spirit to en- 
lighten and guide me. I remember, still earlier, with what feel- 
ings I heard that he was coming into our part of the congrega- 
tion to catechize the children, and the severe labor I performed 
in preparing to recite my first Lord's Day of the Heidelberg 
Catechism. I see now, as I did not then, that the whole glorious 
Gospel of Christ is briefly and beautifully expressed in that 
question and answer, and I thank Dr. Messier for his faithfulness 
in instructing me and the youth of this church in that good old 
catechism. 

These are but examples (the graver and the more cheerful) of 
thousands of memories that cling to the minds of the people, and 
connect the pastor with his flock. Smiles and tears, lights and sha- 
dows, the darker and the brighter hues, all woven together, side 
by side, in the warp and the woof of life ! What a strange ex- 
istence is ours ! Coming into time from the past, going on in 
ceaseless march under this great archway of heaven toward the 
gates of the endless future, how mysterious and even awful our 
very being is ! But how much more so would it be, did we not 
know that Christ, the glorious Son of God, has swept aside the 
darkening vail, and brought life and immortality to light ! 

And here it is that we can turn from our memories, dear as they 
are, to our hopes, which are still dearer. What is all the past, 
but preparation ? We have the memory of it, indeed, but we have 
also the hope of seeing its gladdening fruits hereafter. The 
farmer sows his seed, and he remembers it. For days and weeks 
together his thoughts turn back to the past. But at length there 
10 



150 



ANNIVERSARY. 



comes a time when their tendency is toward the future. Then it 
is expectation, hope rising in the breast, and looking for the re- 
sults of the past in the waving golden harvest. So it is here. 
We have the memories, it is true, but our hopes also anticipate 
the results in the future. And what blessed results they will be ! 
The membership of this church through forty years all gathered 
home at last to heaven! Husbands and wives, parents and chil- 
dren, brothers and sisters, kindred and friends, pastor and people, 
all re-united there ! 

" There, parted friends again shall meet 
In union holy, calm and sweet, 
And light shall glance on every crown 
From suns that never more go down." 

We come with full hearts to celebrate this anniversary to-day. 
But, oh ! a fairer scene, a deeper enjoyment, a more glowing breast, 
and songs more soaring and triumphant, are just before us in the 
future. It is the day when this pastor shall stand before the 
Redeemer's throne, and, pointing to us, shall say, "Here am I, 
and the children whom thou hast given me !" 

We have had the past. We wait for the future. If the expe- 
rience of the one, and the promise of the other, do. not inspire us 
with loving gratitude to God, then surely nothing can. Let us 
go to our homes with three words graven deeply on our hearts : 
Memory, Hope, Thanksgiving. 

The opportunity was here afforded for short addresses by min- 
isters and friends present, especially those who had gone forth 
from the communion of this church to preach the everlasting 
Gospel of Christ. 

REV. ME. QUICK'S ADDEESS. 

The Rev. A. Messier Quick, one of the children of the church, 
named after the present pastor, and baptized by him, addressed 
the audience as follows : 

" My friends, although I would not prolong these already pro- 
tracted, though exceedingly interesting exercises by any lengthy 
words of mine, still I will give vent to some of the rising emotions 
of my heart that the present occasion inspires. We, who a few 
years ago went forth from this paternal roof to preach the un- 
searchable riches of Christ, have come home to-day to exchange 
friendly greetings, and say, How do you do, father ? how do you 
do, brethren and friends ? 



ANXI VERS ART. 



151 



44 As we gather in this family circle, let us recall the past, when 
we used to sit within these consecrated walls, before we went 
forth to proclaim those truths Avhich were first instilled in and 
impressed upon our hearts in this sanctuary, by this our beloved 
and honored pastor. This is our natural and spiritual birthplace, 
and, consequently, hallowed and blessed memories cluster here. 
From this centre our lives have radiated forth into the respective 
fields where the Lord has placed us, to promulgate those truths 
which here first inflamed our souls. Among the many honored 
sons who have gone forth from this church to preach the ever- 
lasting Gospel of Christ, I stand before you as the youngest 
among my brethren, and the only one who bears the honored 
name of our pastor; and I believe I am the only one of them who 
can boast of having received upon my brow the water of holy 
baptism from his hand. Here my mother brought me to conse- 
crate me to the Lord, and upon this spot I received the seal of 
the washing away of sin by the blood and spirit of Christ ; and 
I hope and trust it was not in vain. I feel that it is but due my 
pastor, when I say that I owe more, under God, to him than any 
one else for leading me to the position I now occupy in the vine- 
yard of my Master, and doubtless my brethren can bear the same 
testimony. Here in our childhood and youthful days we listened 
regularly on the Sabbath to the faithful presentation of the Gos- 
pel from the lips of him who now for forty years has broken unto 
this people the bread of life. Gradually those truths became in- 
stilled into our minds, and finally impressed our hearts. We 
were thus led to embrace Christ, and afterward constrained to 
proclaim a crucified Redeemer to a perishing race. That system 
also of regular and faithful catechetical instruction which was 
then the custom of our pastor, was of incalculable benefit to us, 
giving us clear views of the plan of salvation and method of 
grace, and indoctrinating us in that system of revealed truth 
which is in accordance with our Reformed faith. By the value 
we thus received we learned the importance of catechetical in- 
struction among the children of our own congregations, and are 
better qualified to interpret these truths. But not only for the 
faithful inculcation of divine truth from this pulpit, and by cate- 
chetical instruction, do we feel deeply indebted to our pastor, but 
also for his valuable and timely counsels during our course of 
study. We ever felt that we had in him a safe counselor, and 
that trust was never betrayed. I recollect when I first thought 
of entering the ministry, I first breathed the matter in his ear. 



152 



ANNIVERSARY. 



He took ine in his study, and I shall never forget his words of 
counsel to me upon that occasion. ' My son,' said he, ' I am glad 
you are thinking of the matter, but you must weigh it well before 
you decide. While it is a noble work, and there are many plea- 
sant considerations in connection with it, still you will meet with 
many disappointments, many difficulties, much of hard work, and 
much to discourage and perplex.' He showed me the dark as 
well as the bright side of the picture, and it was a long time after 
that before I could feel willing to undertake so responsible and 
arduous a work. And now these my brethren in the ministry, as 
well as myself, after years of service in the holy office, are ready 
to bear testimony to the weight and truth of these words of coun- 
sel and sound wisdom. 

" And now, my friends, as we come to engage with you, in this 
old mother-church, in the ceremonies of this anniversary day, we 
bless the invisible hand that hath led you all through these years, 
and given you so many evidences of his Spirit's presence and 
2>ower. We congratulate you for the uninterrupted, faithful, and 
able preaching of the Word, which it has been your privilege to 
enjoy. We rejoice with you in the continued harmony and pros- 
perity of this church, and invoke the continuance of God's Spirit 
with you, rejoicing your hearts and building you up in the word 
of his grace. And it gives us pleasure to greet and congratulate 
you, loved and honored pastor, upon the fulfilment of your forty 
years over this people — fulfilled with such marked success, with 
such wonderful displays of the goodness of the Lord, and with 
such abundant seals of the cooperation of his Spirit. We bless 
God for what you have been instrumental in doing for us, and 
for what you have been spared so long to accomplish for this 
people, and pray that in the future decade of years the vigor of 
your manhood may not abate, nor your strength fail, but that the 
coming period may be marked with still greater results. 

" And now, my brethren, encouraged by what has here been ac- 
complished for this people by the faithful presentation of the 
truth, let us go forward and be diligent and faithful in our own 
fields of labor, in holding up the standard of the cross before all 
men, and in preaching a crucified Redeemer unto a lost race, so 
that when we have served the Lord thus long in the ministry of 
reconciliation, if it be his will we may be able to recall the years 
of the past with no little satisfaction, and with the recorded evi- 
dences that ' the Lord our God hath led us these forty years.' " 



ANNIVERSARY. 153 

Elders Ralph Voorhees, of Middlebush, and Peter A. Voor- 
hees, of Six-Mile Run, embraced the opportunity of attesting the 
interest they felt in the exercises of the day, and their desire that 
they would exert an abiding influence upon the minds of all pre- 
sent. 

The Rev. A. F. Todd, the youngest, save one, of those who 
have entered the ministry from this church, was the last speaker. 
He said : 

" We have to-day been considering the past. Our memories 
have been refreshed ; scenes and incidents that were, have been 
brought before us. We have been interested, instructed, moved. 
We have been reminded of what forty years have done, and they 
have done much. They have wrought great changes here and 
everywhere. They have witnessed sad scenes and joyous scenes. 
They have made their mark on our venerated friend and pastor ; 
they have made their mark on us all. 

" Among the incidents brought to mind to-day, is one in which 
I chanced to be an interested party. More than a score of years 
ago I was sitting, one Sabbath morning, in yonder gallery, where 
I had been endeavoring to do my share of the singing. It was 
the day for announcing the newly-elected officers of consistory. 
I listened with attentive interest and curiosity to know who they 
were to be, when, to my astonishment, my own name was an- 
nounced as deacon. The effect was electric — perspiration was 
speedy and profuse. 

" But the past is passed. Now what about the future ? What 
about the FUTURE ? What is to be its character ? What of 
blessing is it to bring to you ? What would you have it bring ? 
What will it bring of blessing and of comfort to the heart and 
home of our respected friend and pastor ? What will you have 
it bring to him, dear friends ? He is your pastor still. He closes 
to-day his first forty years among you, and in which were spent 
the strength and prime of his manhood, and enters upon his 
second forty, or that portion of it which God in his providence 
shall see fit to give. You enter with him on this new and last 
period of solemn, blessed relationship. . Remember, Christian 
brethren, that he needs your sympathies and prayers in every 
sense that a pastor can need them, just as much now as he ever 
did, aye, and more. Age is upon him, and to you, as his true 
and tried friends, he looks for sympathy, comfort, and support, 
and all that kindly bearing which will promote his happiness, and 



154 



ANNIVERSARY. 



make tub cosing labors of his life a mutual blessing to you all. 
This is the thought, briefly spoken, that I would impress upon 
your minds, dear friends. God grant that you may all discern 
the responsibilities of a relationship that he has greatly blessed, 
and the issues of which are so closely linked with the interests of 
eternity." 

Rev. George J. Van Neste remarked that the sermon and ad- 
dresses of the day exhibited in a striking manner the formative 
power of the ministry. Time did not suffice for the development 
of this thought, and it was necessary to bring these exercises to a 
close. 

The Rev. Nathaniel Conkling then offered the concluding prayer, 
in the following words : 

" O Lord ! what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the 
son of man that thou visitest him ! Thou madest him a little 
lower than the angels and crownedst him with glory and honor, 
but the gold has become dimmed, and the fine gold changed, 
and woe unto us that we have sinned ! We own the sentence just 
that dooius us to everlasting pains, and would come with peni- 
tence and faith to plead the dying love, and that alone, of thy 
dear Son, our Saviour, for pardon and eternal life. For who is 
Paul, Apollos, or Cephas ? Is Christ divided ? Was Paul crucified 
for us ? Lo, then, neither is he that planteth any thing, neither 
is he that watereth any thing, but God that giveth the increase. 
At thy feet, therefore, blessed Saviour, would we come, and lay 
the acts and issues of this pastorate of forty years ; praying the 
application of thy blood, that every thing amiss may be washed 
away, and the good that has been wrought may be given unre- 
servedly to thee, the ever-gracious giver. We bless thee, great 
Saviour, that, through the instrumentality of earthen vessels, the 
excellency of thy power is revealed, that no flesh may glory in 
thy presence. We thank thee that thou hast made this our be- 
loved pastor, and father in the ministry, the vehicle of so much 
of blessing to the church here, and, through those who have gone 
forth from under his faithful ministry as ministers or laymen, 
to the church elsewhere. And we come now, blessed Lord, to 
pray for the continuance and increase of these divine influences 
upon himself, his family, and the church, through all these chan- 
nels, multiplying and remultiplying them until the end comes, 
when all the results shall be gathered up and laid at Jesus' feet, 
with the shout of Worthy is the Lamb ! We thank thee, O Lord ! 
for the fellowship of this commemorative occasion, and that thy 



ANNIVERSARY. 



155 



servant stands so approved of God and man, as an able and faith- 
ful minister of the everlasting Gospel of the grace of God. And 
now, Lord, we pray thee that his bow may abide in strength, and 
his hand may be made strong by the arm of the mighty God of 
Jacob, for the remainder of his life-work, and until he shall be 
called up higher, to receive the award of the faithful. And may 
the people of his charge likewise be faithful and immovable, 
always abounding in the work of the Lord; fulfilling their part 
of this covenant relationship more fully and freely than ever be- 
fore. And now may the God of peace, who wrought again," etc. 

The audience at the close united in singing the grand old doxo 
logy, 

" Praise God, from whom all blessings flow," etc. 

The benediction was pronounced by the Rev. John Garretson, 
D.D., and thus ended the interesting public exercises of this 
memorial day — a day to live for many years in the memory of 
the people of the church of Raritan and of all their friends who 
were present to participate in them. The clergy and friends from 
abroad -were invited to the house of Dr. Messier, where they par- 
took of a bountiful collation spread by the pastor for his intimate 
friends. While refreshing the outer ina-n, a pleasant opportunity 
Avas afforded for renewing old friendships and social ties. In 
genial intercourse the hours passed pleasantly, until the waning 
day warned those from a distance of the necessity of their bid- 
ding adieu to this scene with its pleasant associations. 

The evening was devoted by the people of the church to the 
pleasant work of honoring their revered pastor, and partaking of 
the good things he had provided for them. They came in great 
numbers to testify their esteem and tender him their congratula- 
tions. They mingled with one another in pleasant social groups, 
and thus made a cheerful and agreeable use of the occasion. 
While thus testifying their intelligent and hearty appreciation of 
this memorial day, they showed a true appreciation of the bene- 
fits of the relation which has so long subsisted between them and 
their pastor, by giving him not only pleasant words and kind 
compliments, but also substantial tokens of their esteem, tending 
to smoothe the declivity of life, and cement the ties which have so 
long bound them to one another. Before taking their dej>arture 
they presented him with a handsome purse amounting to more 
than $5" 00, and thus afforded him additional evidences of their 
friendship and love in this renewed expression of their kind es- 
teem, and desire to promote his welfare and comfort. 



156 



ANNIVERSARY. 



An interesting incident connected with the exercises of the day 
was the presentation of the following note to Rev. Dr. Messier, 
by the gentlemen whose names are appended. 

" Bloomingburg, N. Y., ISTov. 22, 1872. 

" Rey. Dr. Messler : Dear Friend and Pastor : Inclosed you 
will please find a check drawn to your order, which paper we 
shall make bold to call a purse. It is presented by those whom 
you are pleased to designate as your 4 young men' or, in other 
words, those who have entered the ministry from the church of 
which you are the honored pastor. 

" We are well aware that the amount is not large, scarcely worth 
a mention, nevertheless beg you to accept it as a slight expression 
of our high regard for one whose name and memory we cherish 
as that of friend and pastor. 

" We congratulate you on your having been spared and permit- 
ted to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of your settlement as 
minister of the First Reformed Church of Raritan ; to which ven- 
erable 4 elect lady ' we have the honor to claim a near and spiritual 
relationship. Long may your love abide in strength, and the 
truths you utter be 4 as a two-edged sword/ May the blessing of 
our covenant God and Saviour be upon you and yours, and upon 
the church you have served ' these forty years/ 

" Very truly yours in the gospel of a blessed Saviour. 



George J. Van Neste, 
Abel T. Stewart, 
John Steele, 
A. Messler Quick, 



n. conklin, 
John Gaston, 
John A. Todd, 
Aug. F. Todd/' 



HISTORICAL NOTES 

OF THE 

REFORMED DUTCH CHURCHES 

OF THE 

COUNTY OF SOMERSET, N. J, 



THE CHURCH OF RARITAN. 



There were no permanent inhabitants in Somerset County 
earlier than 1681 ; and there is no record of any ecclesiastical or- 
ganization before March 9th, 1099, when elders and deacons were 
chosen at Raritan, and ordained by the Rev. Guliam Bartholf, of 
Hackensack. The country was originally almost entirely covered 
by a primitive forest. The lowlands along the Raritan, above 
Bound Brook, were, in some places, destitute of trees, and had 
been used by the Indians to raise corn, beans, and pumpkins. 
This open meadow, abounding in grass, and fit at once for the 
plow, formed one of the principal attractions to the first inhabi- 
tants. Cornelius Yan Tienhoven, Secretary of New-Netherlands, 
in his tract in relation to taking up lands in 1650, says, "The dis- 
trict inhabited by a nation called Raritangs is situated on a fresh 
water river, that flows through the centre of a lowland which 
the Indians cultivated. This vacant territory lies between two 
high mountains far distant the one from the other. This is the 
handsomest and pleasantest country that man can behold. It 
furnished the Indians with abundance of maize, beans, pumpkins, 
and other fruits. This district was abandoned by the natives for 
two reasons : The first and principal is that, finding themselves 
unable to resist the southern Indians, they migrated further in- 
land. The second, because this country was flooded every spring, 
like Rensselaer's colony, frequently spoiling and destroying their 
supply of maize, stored in holes under ground. 

" Through this valley pass large numbers of all sorts of tribes on 
their way north or east. This land is, therefore, not only adapted 
for raising grain and rearing all descriptions of cattle, but also 
very convenient for trade with the Indians." — Doc. History , vol. 
4, page 29. 

When the settlement of the country commenced, a few families 
came from New- York, as White, Codrington, Royce, and possibly 
others, and settled on the lands they had purchased. Then Cor- 
nelius and John Tunison and Peter and Jerome Yan Nest emi- 



160 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



grated from Long Island and located on the Earitan, near So- 
merville, about 1683. John Inians, a merchant of New- York, pur- 
chased, November 10th, 1681, a tract of land on the Raritan, em- 
bracing the territory on which the city of New-Brunswick was 
afterward built, and others soon bought up nearly the whole space 
subsequently included in the Three-Mile Run and Six-Mile Run 
congregations. Inians fixed his residence on his land near the river, 
and established a ferry near what is now the foot of Albany street. 
A road or bridle-path had been opened at an early day from Eliza- 
beth to Trenton, on an old Indian trail, which crossed the river 
at the place where Inians's ferry was located. We have a notice 
of the existence of this path as early as 1677, when William 
Edmundson, a preacher among the Quakers in England, attempted 
to pass between these two points with an Indian guide, and lost 
his way ten miles west of New-Brunswick, and was a whole day 
occupied in retracing his steps, camping out during the night by 
a fire in the wilderness. This path became the first public tho- 
roughfare across the State, and exists still in " the old road " 
between New-Brunswick and Trenton. The importance of it as 
a means of communication by land, between New-Amsterdam 
and Virginia, was so great that Inians obtained a grant for his 
"ferry" December 2d, 1697, by promising to pay an annual rent 
of five shillings sterling. On this " old road " the first settlements 
were made west of New-Brunswick. When the upper parts of the 
Raritan began to be visited, another path first, and then a road, 
branched off on the east side of the " ferry," and following mainly 
the river bank oil the north side, reached Bound Brook, and gra- 
dually penetrated westward to the forks of the north and south 
branches. By this road the first settlers about Somerville must 
have come, or else they made their way up the river in small 
boats or canoes, from Inians's ferry and Amboy. 

Soon after the Tunisons and Van Nests settled, Cornelius 
Vroom, Michael Hansson, An dries Aullyn, Derick Middagh, 
Michael Van Veghten came and joined them. Frederick Gar- 
retson, William Morrison, John Oatman Wortman, Jacob Sebring, 
Isaac Bodyn, Edward Drinkwater, Reuben Jonsen, Johannes 
Dameld, Gabriel Lebertstein, Hendrick Reyniersen, John Roelof- 
son, Thomas Posselle, Folkerd Hendricksen, Pieter Dumont, John 
Hanse Hoeverden, Josias Merlett, Cornelius Powelsen, William 
Claessen, and others soon found their way to Raritan. 

In the vicinity of Three-Mile Run the earliest names derived 
from the church records are Roelef Sebring, Hendrick Bries, 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 161 

Roelf Lucas Van Voorhees, A art Artsen, Isaac Van Dyke, 
Johannes Folkersen, Jan Aten, Laurens Williams, Jacob Ouke, 
Roelef Nevius, Charles Fonteyn, Hans Stoothoff, and Thomas 
Bowman.* 

Contemporary with these names we have, in the year 1703, a list 
of persons at Three-Mile Run subscribing for the expense of pro- 
curing a minister from Holland, namely, Dolis liegeman, Tunis 
Quick, Hendrick Emans, Thomas Cort, Jacob Probasco, Nicholas 
Wyckoff, Aaron L. Draver, Michael L. Moore, John Schedeman, 
Nicholas Van Dyke, John Van Houten, William Bennet, Fol- 
kerd Van Nostrand, Isaac Bennet, Hendrick Fanger, Abraham 
Bennet, Cornelius Peterson, Philip Folkersen, George Anderson, 
Stophel Probasco, Isaac La Priere, Simon Van Winkle, Cobes 
Benat, Garrit Oatman, Lucas Coevert, Brogun Coevert, William 
Van Duyn, John Folkerson, Jost Benat. 

These names embrace the nucleus out of which the churches of 
Three-Mile Run and Six-Mile Run were subsequently organized. 
They were here before Theodorus J. Frelinghuysen was called to 
labor in this part of New-Jersey. Others were in time added to 
them by emigration, as the country improved. We find, for in- 
stance, in the records of Raritan the following : Derich Volkerse, 
Garret Bolmer, Jan Lavor, Simon Wiekkoff, William Claesse, 
Pieter Hoff, Garret Dorlandt, Andries Boert, Jan Broka, James 
Fonteyn, Adrian Molenar, Jacob Rappelyea, Joris Hael, Jan 
Laeten, William Lambers, Pieter Kinne, Jacob Stoll, Hendrick 
Traphagen, Luykes Schermerhorn, Jan Hendricksen, Joris Van 
Middles waert, Johannes Fisher, Jeremias Field, Luyckas Wessels, 
Jacob Koersen, Nicholas Hayman, Cornelis Van Ouwegen, An- 
dries Ten Eyck, William Dey, Manuel Van Allen, Abraham 
Elemeteren, Johannes Siegeler, Cornelis Van Ondeyen, Wilem 
Ilerrise, Jurijen Remer, and oihers. Some of these names are yet 
borne by persons among us, honored in church and state ; but 
how many have ceased to have any living representatives ! " One 
generation passeth away and another followeth," and in the 
wrecks of time the proudest names perish. It is a necessity grow- 
ng out of our transitory existence, and the reign of death. 

The earliest record of an ecclesiastical character which has been 
preserved, relating to the churches of Somerset County, is dated 
March 9th, 1699, and being translated reads as follows : "The follow- 
ing persons were chosen, (meaning as a consistory,) namely, John 
Tuynesen as eider, and Pieter Van Nest as deacon, and were in- 

* We give the spelling in the record. 



162 



HISTORICAL NOTES, 



stalled before the congregation by Guliam Bertliolff. At the same 
time the ordinance of the holy sacrament was administered to the 
communicants by the above named person." This is all the record 
we have in reference to the organization of our church, the first 
organized religious society in the county ; and there are no docu- 
ments and no traditions pointing out where these services were 
held, or of any building for religious worship in our vicinity prior 
to 1721. It is hardly credible that some place had not been pro- 
vided before this. There is reference to a church building at 
Three-Mile Run as early as 1703, and such a building was erected 
at Six-Mile Ran in 1717, and at North-Branch in 1710. It is 
hardly probable that the people of Raritan were the last to move 
in such an important matter ; but if they had any building, where 
was it? We are inclined to the opinion that all their meetings 
were at some private house, perhaps in a barn belonging to John 
Tunison or Peter Yan Nest. Rev. Guliam Betholf, the actor in 
this important transaction, was originally a schoolmaster and 
"voorleser, " or clerk, in the church at Hackensack. He was sent 
by the congregation to Holland in 1693 to be licensed and or- 
dained, and seems to have commended himself to the chassis of 
Amsterdam, for they cheerfully granted the request of the people 
of Hackensack, and sent him back to them as an ordained minis- 
ter. He is said to have been the second person who went from 
New-Netherland to Holland for this important purpose. On his 
return he preached at Hackensack and Aequackanonk statedly, 
and was for fifteen years the only settled preacher in N"ew-Jersey. 
He had, in consequence, a general supervision of all the churches 
in the colony, and may be said to have been a domestic mission- 
ary at large, and very much on his own charges at the same time. 
Tappan, Tarrytown, and Staten Island as well as Raritan in their 
records show evidence of his presence and of his labors. It is 
also known that he officiated at Ponds, Pompton, Bellville, and 
other places from time to time. He is said to have possessed " a 
mild and placid eloquence which persuaded by its gentleness, and 
attracted by the sweetness which it distilled, and the holy savor 
of piety which it diffused around." His hand was largely in " the 
beginnings" of several of our Dutch churches, and if all the other 
hands had been guided by such a kindly spirit as . he breathed, the 
"beginnings" would have taken hold faster, and their progress 
would certainly have been more effectual in promoting godliness. 
From 1G81 to 1899, a period of eighteen y^ars, the families 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



163 



which had made this portion of the State, or colony, as it then 
was, their home had had few or no religious privileges. It is 
probable that occasionally, at least, some clergyman from New- 
York or Long Island visited them and preached the Gospel to 
them ; at least this may have been done during the latter years of 
this period • but we have no documentary evidence to that effect. 
And again, from 1699 to 1717 or 1718 there w T ere evidently only 
occasional services in any of the churches then existing. The re- 
cords of baptisms at Raritan are September 19th, 1699, April 
30th, 1700, September 26th, 1700, March 11th, 1701, November 
18th, 1701, April 21st, 1702, October 27th, 1702, March 23d, 1703, 
January 30th, 1703 j and so on uniformly twice in each year, 
through the whole period. There is one entrance which is pecu- 
liar : Cornelius Powelson and his wife had eight children, namely, 
Maritie, Lisabel, Maria, Cornells, Benjamin, Josias, William, and 
John, baptized as sponsors. These were probably their grand- 
children, as the names of the parents are omitted in the record — 
they may have been deceased. In 17 04, there are three days 
noted on which children were admitted to the ordinance of bap- 
tism, namely, April 20th, August 1st, and January 1 7th. These 
records until April, 1717, are all evidently made by the same 
hand, and if the notice of the first ordination of consistory on 
March 9th, 1699, was made by the Rev. G. Eartholfi himself, then 
he seems to have preached at Raritan ordinarily twice during the 
year, in the spring and in the autumn, when he also administered 
the sacrament of the Lord's Supper to the church. 

The call from Raritan, Three Mile Run, Six-Mile Run, and 
North-Branch must have been prepared and sent forward to the 
classis of Amsterdam as early as 1717 or 1718; for it is stated 
that when Theodoras J. Frelinghuysen accepted it, it had been 
w r aiting two years. This is evidence that there must have been 
churches already regarded as having been regularly constituted 
in all these three districts, but we have no other evidence of this 
important fact. Of any church edifices we only know that the 
Three-Mile Run church was built on the main road about three 
miles w^est from New-Brunswick, and the burying-ground around 
it is still preserved, and marks the spot where it stood. The 
North-Branch church was constructed of logs, and stood on the 
Second river-bank, directly w^est of the Two Bridges, on the north 
side of the road to Readington. As early as 1703, the people of 
Three-Mile Run had moved in the matter of a preacher of the 



HISTORICAL XOTES. 



Gospel, and raised a sum of money amounting to £10 IGs. 6d. to 
pay the expense of procuring one from Holland. There may have 
been a church edifice in that vicinity as early as this time, but it 
is hardly probable. There was none at Raritan, certainly, earlier 
than 1721. This edifice was erected on land donated by Michael 
Van Yechten, and it stood on the knoll on the north side of the 
river, one fourth of a mile below the present bridge across the 
Raritan, known as " the old bridge." The road from Bound Brook 
to Somerville ran, at that time, a few yards north of it. It re- 
mained standing fifty-eight years, until it was burned by the Bri- 
tish dragoons, known as the Queen's Rangers, commanded by 
Colonel Symes, on the 27th of October, 1779. 

If we consider the circumstances by which the people in Som- 
erset County bad been surrounded, we shall easily form a proper 
conception of their spiritual condition. They had been living 
nearly forty years in a new and uncultivated country. Hearing 
the Gospel only a few times in the year, a whole generation had 
been born and educated without public worship. The schools 
were no better than the churches. A state of manners and of 
morals must have been gendered under such circumstances which 
was any thing but favorable to religion. The country in which 
they lived was rude, and it could hardly be expected that the 
people would be otherwise. The outward forms had in some 
measure been maintained, but the spirit of religion must have 
been largely wanting. 

We have then, at the time Mr. Frelinghuysen took charge of 
the religious interests in this vicinity, three churches, more or 
less completely organized. Raritan in 1699, Three-Mile Run in 
1703, and North-Branch in 1719. In process of time the Three- 
Mile Run church was divided, one portion going to New-Bruns- 
wick, and the other to Six-Mile Run. This took place early, as it 
appears a church was organized there in 1 7 1 0. The division proba- 
bly was gradual, and resulted from the preponderance of interest 
in the Three-Mile Run church, centering in New-Brunswick. There 
is a list of members of " the Church of the River and Lawrence 
Brook " dated 1717, and including seventy-three individuals, name- 
ly, Adrien Bennet and wife, Aart Artsen and wife, Isaac Van Dyke 
and wife, Roelef Sebring and wife, Johannes Folkersen and wife, 
Hendrick Bries and wife, Roelef Van Voorhees and wife, Laurens 
Willimse and wife, Roelef Nevius and wife, Jan Van Voorhees 
and wife, Minne Van Voorhees and wife, Jacobus Oukee and wife, 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



Johannes Stoothoff and wife, Abraham Bennet and wife, Jakis Fon- 
teyn and wife, Siarles Fonteyn and wife, Jakobns Buys and wife, 
Thomas Auten and wife, Thomas Davidts and wife, William 
Klaasen and wife, Thomas Bouwman and wife, Andries Wortman 
and wife, Johannes Koevert and wife, Hendrick Meech and wife, 
Bernardns Kuelor and wife, Christofel Van Arsdalen and wife, 
Jakop Corse and wife, Cornelius Suydam and wife, Joris Anderse 
and wife, Marten Yan der Hoeve, Johannes Metselaer, Samuel 
Montfort, Jan Aten, William Moore, Niccklas Bason, Maria Fre- 
lanth, Elizabet Bries, Annatie Folkerson, Heelena Hoglandt, Mare- 
geretie Reynierse, Barbara Janse, Geartic Smock, Elizabet Smock, 
and Katrina Boyd. These were the original members of the 
]S T ew-Brunswick church. This list adds to the names already 
given only twelve, namely, Trelanth, Bries, Buys, Yan der Hoeve, 
Bason, Meech, Kuetor, Metselaer, Smock, Yan Arsdalen, Boyd, 
Suydam. At North-Branch, we have Andries Ten Eyck, Abraham 
Dubois, John Pursell, Josua Chrison, Jan Hendricksen, Daniel 
Sebring, Coenrad Ten Eyck, Derick and Michael Yan Yeghten, 
Alexander McDowall, Jan Yan Sicklen, Benjamin Bart, Jacob 
Stoll, Teunis Yan Middleswaert, George Hall, Albert Lou, Wil- 
liam Rosa, Paulus Bulner, Lucas Schermerhorn, Pieter Yan Neste, 
William Krom, John Cock, Joris Yan Neste, Emanuel Yan Etten, 
Johannes Grau, John Emmens, Coert Jansen, George Dildein, John 
Reading, Gerret Yan Yliet, Hendrick Rosenboom, Frans Wal- 
dron, Godfried and Philip Peters, David Cussart, David Subair, 
Isaac Bodine, Abraham Broca, all before 1723. 

The following notice of Theodoras Jacobus Frelinghuysen, the 
first minister of these churches, Avas prepared some years since 
and recently published in Spragutfs Annals of the American 
Palpit* It embraces all that has been collected concerning his 
person, life, and ministry. It is not as much as ought to have 
been preserved, but it is all that we have been able to collect 
from all known sources of reliable information ; a large portion is 
tradition, but we believe it is reliable. 

Theodoras Jacobus Frelinghuysen was born at Lingen, in East- 
Frieslang, now the northwest part of the kingdom of Hanover, 
about the year 1691. He was the son of Johannes Henricus Fre- 
linghuysen, pastor of the Reformed Dutch church in that place, and 
a brother of Matthias David Frelinghuysen,who settled in Hortigen, 
Holland." He seems to have received his education chiefly in his 

* See Steele's Hist. Discourse, page 209. 

11 



166 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



native place, under the instruction of the Rev. Otto Verbrugge, 
who afterward became a professor at Groningen. He was or- 
dained to the pastoral office at Embden in his native country by 
Johannes Brunius, in the year 1717. He came from Holland to 
America in the ship King George, Captain Goclet, in 1720, or per- 
haps the end of 1719, as he preached in New- York January 
17th, 1720, and settled immediately as the pastor of the Reformed 
Dutch church at Raritan, Somerset County, N. J. He preached 
his first sermon at Raritan, January 31st, 1720, from 2 Cor. 5 : 20 : 
" Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did 
beseech you by us : we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled 
to God." A call from this church had been sent some two years 
previous to the classis of Amsterdam for their approval, which, 
according to the usages of their church in this country, they were 
expected to fill up with the name of a suitable person, and, after 
ordaining him, send him out to fulfill its duties. In this way all 
vacancies were supplied, and a Christian ministry furnished to the 
congregations which had been collected in their colonies in 
America, The Rev. Mr. Sicco Tjady, a godly minister belong- 
ing to that classis, it is said, interested himself, through the influ- 
ence of the Rev. Bernardus Freeman, of Long Island, in procuring 
an evangelical and pious man to fill this station. While the call 
from Raritan was waiting and inquiries were being made for some 
one willing to accept it, young Frelinghuysen passed through the 
place of his residence, from East-Friesland, on his way to Emb- 
den, having been invited to the rectorship of the academy in that 
city. He put up for the night at the house of one of the elders 
of the church of which Rev. Sicco Tjady was pastor. The eve- 
ning was spent in religious conversation, and when the time for 
family worship arrived, the young stranger was invited to con- 
duct it. He readily consented, and after reading a chapter of the 
Word of God, gave a short and familiar exposition of its promi- 
nent truths, and concluded with prayer. The elder was much 
gratified with his remarks, the fervor of his prayer, and his pre- 
vious conversation, and so entirely convinced of his piety and 
spiritual-mind edness, that in the morning, when he was about to 
proceed on his journey, he exacted from him a promise on his re- 
turn to call upon him again, and then hastening immediately to 
his pastor, exclaimed, "I have found a man to accept the call 
from America." Frelinghuysen, after visiting Embden, returned, 
according to his promise, to the house of the elder, was introduced 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



167 



to Sicco Tjady, consulted in reference to the call, and finally agreed 
to accept it. The circumstances appeared providential, and, it is 
said, were always regarded by himself as having been a divine 
intimation, pointing out to him the path of duty. He felt as if, 
when leaving the land of his birth and the house of his fathers, 
he was, like the patriarch, following the direction of the Al- 
mighty. 

When he arrived and entered upon the duties of his ministry, 
he found immediately a wide field of usefulness opening before 
him. The church at Raritan had been organized since 1696, but 
was still feeble and scattered. It had enjoyed previously to this 
time only occasional religious services, perhaps not oftener than 
three or four times a year. In such a condition piety could not 
be expected to flourish, nor the Gospel to produce much fruit ; 
and the state of things which Mr. Frelinghuysen found existing 
on his arrival, did not prove the contrary. The form of religion 
was retained, but there were only a few in the church who mani- 
fested any effect of its power. 

The territory embraced in his charge was great for one indivi- 
dual to supervise. It extended from New-Brunswick to the 
north and south branches of the Raritan River, in length from 
fifteen to twenty miles, and in breadth from ten to twelve, com- 
prehending nearly the whole of the present county of Somerset, 
east of the mountain, and at this time occupied by sixteen con- 
gregations of the Reformed Dutch church. The place of his 
residence was about three miles west of New-Brunswick; and 
thence he visited and preached at all the different points where 
his services were required. Near his residence was a small 
church, known at that time as the church at Three-Mile Run, 
since removed to New-Brunswick, and now divided into two sepa- 
rate charges. The other points where places for public worship 
had been provided, besides Raritan, were Six-Mile Run, and North- 
Branch, in all four churches. But his heart was not appalled by 
the extent and weight of his responsibilities, nor his zeal abated 
by the difficulties and discouragements which it encountered. 
For twenty-seven years, at least, he labored in this extensive field 
with unceasing diligence and most remarkable success. " The 
wilderness was converted into a fruitful field, 1 ' flourishing like 
"the garden of the Lord," and multitudes rejoiced in the hope 
of salvation. Here Whitefield found him in 1739, and made the 
following record in his journal : 



103 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



"At New-Brunswick some thousands gathered from various 
parts of the country, among whom there had been considerable 
a wakening by the instrumentalities of Mr. Frelinghuysen, a Dutch 
minister, and the Messrs. Tennent, Blair, and Rowland-" Jona- 
than Edwards refers to this awakening in his narrative of several 
revivals of religion in New-England in 1740, in the following 
words : " And also at another place, under the ministry of a very 
pious young gentleman, a Reformed Dutch minister, whose name, 
I remember, was Frelinghuysen." Gilbert Tennent also, in 1744. 
writing to the Rev. Mr. Prince, of Boston, notices the same revival 
of religion as the effects of his preaching. " The labors of the 
Rev. Mi*. Frelinghuysen. a Dutch Calvinistic minister, were much 
blessed to the people of Xew-Brunswick and places adjacent, 
especially about the time of his coming among them, which was 
about twenty-four years ago. "When I came there, which was 
about seven years after, I had the pleasure of seeing much of the 
fruits of his ministry. Divers of his hearers, with whom I had 
an opportunity of conversing, appeared to be converted people by 
their soundness in principle, Christian experience, and pious prac- 
tice, and these persons declared that the ministrations of this 
aforesaid gentleman were the means thereof. This, together 
with a kind letter which he sent me respecting the necessity of 
dividing the Word aright and giving to every man his portion in 
due season, through the divine blessing, excited me to greater 
earnestness in ministerial labors." 

These are the only records remaining of a most extensive and 
powerful revival of religion, the history of which has never been 
written^ and now it can not properly be done, for the materials 
have nearly all perished. In attempting, at this late day, to do 
the subject some justice, we necessarily depend almost wholly 
upon tradition. This agrees in representing the work to have 
been general, powerful, and evangelical, resulting in the saving 
conversion to Christ of many precious souls. It characterizes the 
piety of those who experienced its power as being warm, practi- 
cal, and self-denying. Among its subjects the young were the most 
numerous, and through a long life they continued to manifest the 
genuineness of the change wrought in all their views and affections, 
being most of them eminent as examples of faith, of piety, and of 
prayer. What Tennent saw and admired in those with whom he 
conversed, was, to a greater or less extent, common to all. No one 
who had known in himself the power of the grace of God, could 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



169 



fail to recognize in them " the image of the heavenly," or refuse to 
acknowledge the agency of the Holy Spirit, by which they had 
been renewed and sanctified. Years have rolled away, and the 
last of them has long since been translated to the joys of immor- 
tal life; but neither the sense of the value of their influence for 
good, nor the conviction of the depth and reality of their piety, 
has ceased to be felt in this part of the Church. After careful 
researches in every place where there was any prospect of obtain- 
ing information as to the precise number who embraced religion, 
as the fruits of this gracious work, I have been obliged to aban- 
don the hope of succeeding. No documents remain throwing any 
light upon the subject, except at Raritan, and those are brief and 
imperfect. The greatest number received at any one communion 
or confession of faith was seventy; the average aggregate, forty- 
four. This was certainly greater than the whole number of fami- 
lies included in the congregation at that time. If we suppose 
the work to have been equally extensive in the others, and there 
is nothing to forbid it, the aggregate* would amount to two hun- 
dred and twenty. This is probably too large, yet all the tra- 
ditionary recollections show the influence to have been very 
general. No one points to any particular place as having been 
more especially favored than the others ; and thus the above con- 
clusion is left quite unimpaired. 

The most prominent peculiarity of the preaching of Mr. Freling- 
huysen, and which in his day, and among those who were capable 
of understanding the Dutch language, was a subject of extensive 
remark, and finally of protracted controversy, consisted in those 
clear and discriminating views of the nature and necessity of the 
religion of the heart, which it conveyed to his hearers in pointed 
language and almost conversational familiarity. A very cursory 
reading of his printed discourses will show an unusual frequency 
of the use of interrogation, which is succeeded immediately by 
pointed, pithy answer. In. this way he seems to have taxed the 
attention of his hearers to the utmost, and rendered his whole 
discourse almost like a personal conversation between himself and 
each one individually. The doctrines of regeneration, repentance, 
faith, holiness, are nowhere more strikingly illustrated, or more 
earnestly advocated. He had evidently, in his own heart, a deep 
experience of their power. From an allusion to his personal ex- 
perience, found in the preface to one of his volumes, it seems as 
if he had, like Banyan, been brought through deep waters and 



170 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



dark temptations before lie embraced the hope of life through 
Christ. "I am the man," says he, " who has seen trouble." He 
uniformly insisted, firmly and earnestly, on the necessity of re- 
generation, to a profitable participation of the Lord's Supper. On 
one occasion it is said that, when administering the communion 
in the church at Six-Mile Run, he cried out, as he saw the com- 
municants approaching the table, "See! see! even the people of 
the world and the impenitent are coming, that they may eat and 
drink judgment to themselves." Several individuals, feeling them- 
selves pointed at, paused after having left their seats, and re- 
turned to them, not daring to commune ! In every instance, be- 
fore acknowledging any one to be a Christian, he required a con- 
sistent account of his religious experience. In Lis view, conviction 
of sin, and a sense of guilt, always preceded faith and comfort in 
Christ. He may, in some instances, have erred in adhering too 
tenaciously to his theory. It was, in fact, one of the charges of 
his opposers, that in visiting the sick and dying, he began by 
preaching " the terrors of the law," and sometimes left them even 
without a word of comfort, though he could not know that he 
would ever see them again, and in some cases did not. 

Now, all this was in striking contrast to what the people had 
been accustomed to. Evangelical sentiments were by no means 
common even among the ministry of the church in that day. 
They adhered to the doctrines of the Reformation ; but the power 
and spirituality of that great religious movement, and that most 
copious effusion of the Holy Ghost, had in a great measure ceased 
to exist. All were not in such a lifeless state, indeed, but many 
were, and the course of Mr. Frelinghuysen was spoken against in 
high places. He was called an enthusiast, because he insisted 
upon the necessity of a change of heart. But he heeded not the 
clamors. Pursuing a uniform and energetic course, and waxing 
stronger and stronger as he gathered around him those in whose 
conversion he had been instrumental, and securing the confidence 
of that part of the ministry of the church who were men ot 
spiritual-mindedness, he waited patiently for the great triumph 
of his principles. 

The most extensive inquiry into the character of the revival 
under his ministry which has yet been made, has uniformly 
resulted in a conviction of its purity — the deeply experimental 
character of the work, and the scriptural piety which it produced. 
My own convictions in this respect harmonize with those of all 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



171 



the others with whom I have conversed. It is believed that even 
at this day we are enjoying some of the fruits of that blessed 
work, in that general attention to gospel ordinances and the 
wide diffusion of the spirit of piety which characterize the 
churches now existing in the sphere of its influence. 

The change effected was a great one. The whole spiritual life 
of the churches was affected by it. It went to uproot ancient 
customs ; it attacked cherished hopes and convictions, made those 
last who had been first, and showed the confident and the secure 
that, while " having a name to live, they were dead in trespasses 
and sins." It required all his energy to meet the crisis — all his 
love of truth to prevent him from sacrificing it for the sake of 
avoiding difficulties. But he never paused for a moment. He had 
known the love of God in himself ; how could he refrain from re- 
commending its peace to his dying fellow-men ? He believed that 
the blood of Christ alone cleanses from sin ; how could he fail to 
direct the inquirer to the life-giving fountain ? In a charge so 
extensive, and under circumstances requiring so much labor and 
attention to the spiritual interests of individuals, Mr. Frelinghuy- 
sen found himself straitened beyond measure. The expedient 
which he adopted as a relief was as novel as it proved to be ju- 
dicious and successful.. At the present day it would be regarded 
as a very new measure. He could not depend upon, or to any 
extent secure, the assistance of his brethren in the ministry, for 
there were none nearer than Hackensack and New- York. Perhaps 
he had confidence in only a few of them, and the anxious could 
not be left without instruction and prayer ; he therefore appointed 
two of his most intelligent and pious elders in each of his congre- 
gations, and termed them helpers. In his absence they conducted 
the meetings for prayer, conversed with the anxious and awa- 
kened, and instructed the youths by catechetical recitations. The 
effect of this expedient was happy at the time. The selection, too, 
seems to have been eminently judicious ; and the individuals con- 
tinued to be regarded and to act as leaders in the religious ser- 
vices, and guides to the people, as long as they lived. They were 
viewed as a kind of under-shepherds, and several of them are 
still remembered as being particularly eminent in their piety, 
gifted in prayer, and happy in the influence which they exerted. 
It has been noticed too, in more than one instance, that very 
special blessings seemed to rest on their descendants, as if their 
piety had been transmitted as an inheritance from their ancestors . 



172 



[ HISTORICAL NOTES. 



But it must not be supposed that such a course did not incur cen- 
sure, or that a ministry so efficient and discriminating in holding up 
to view the difference between formalism and true piety — the 
religion of the heart as distinguished from that which is satisfied 
with a fruitless faith — could be exercised without opposition. 
Some of those who had been most prominent as the friends of the 
church I felt themselves condemned by many *of the doctrines 
which Mr. Frelinghuysen preached. His views of regeneration, 
and especially his insisting so earnestly upon evidence of a new 
heart as a preparation for the communion of the Lord's Supper, 
were at once resisted. " How can he know if the heart is 
changed?" said they. u He sets himself to be the judge of men's 
hearts;" and consequently his whole course was condemned, and 
his prenching treated with ridicule, as visionary and enthusiastic. 
Several of his sermons were specified, and particular passages and 
expressions seriously censured. This led him, as early as 1721, to 
publish a small volume containing these same discourses, in order 
to show what doctrines he really preached, and against what sen- 
timents his opponents objected. The subject of the first is, " The 
Broken Heart and Contrite Spirit," Isa. 6G : 2 ; of the second, 
"The Lord's Supper," 1 Cor. 11 : 29; of the third, "Christian 
Discipline, or the Power of the Keys," Matthew ]G : 19. 

That I have formed a correct judgment in reference to the 
cause of the opposition to the ministry of Mr. Frelinghuysen, and 
that I am not unjust in attributing it to the doctrines which lie 
preached, and especially to the fact that he insisted so strongly 
upon the necessity of spiritual influence and a change of heart, 
and held up prominently the difference between vital godliness 
and a mere belief of doctrines without practice, will be abun- 
dantly evident from the very vindication itself, which his oppo- 
nents thought it necessary for them to prepare and publish. It 
is contained in a pamphlet of one hundred and forty-six pages ; 
and is an able and most ingenious defense of its own principles, 
but only on that account the more clearly justifying, to an enlight- 
ened Christian understanding, the whole course of Mr. Freling- 
huysen ; and proving the evangelical nature of his preaching and 
his principles. This pamphlet Mr. Frelinghuysen answered, fully 
vindicating his whole course, and explaining and proving his doc- 
trines to be those of the Reformation, and especially of the church 
of the Netherlands. This refutation, unfortunately, is lost. Thus, 
it seems that the same spirit which drove Jonathan Edwards from 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



173 



Northampton also blustered and became angry along the Raritan, 
when it was pressed by the Gospel; but here it was completely 
conquered and driven from the field. His language, in one of his 
sermons in reference to the obloquy which he met, is, "I may not 
here speak of what I suffer personally; so I have made no inquiry 
of what the opposition of natural men has led them to say behind 
my back, who speak not according to the truth of God's word, 
but according to their own crooked conceptions. They deceive 
themselves greatly in attempting in this way to silence me, for I 
would rather suffer a thousand deaths than not preach the truth." 

As a specimen of the way in which, at other times, he saw r fit to 
meet the obloquy of his enemies, I may mention that he printed on 
the back of his sleigh the following doggerel : 

Niemands tong, nog niemands pen, 
Maakt my araders dan ik ben ; 
Spreek quaad-spreekers, spreek vonder end, 
Niemands en word van u. geschend. 

No one's tongue, nor no one's pen, 
Makes me other than I am ; 
Speak evil speakers, speak without end, 
No one heeds a word you pretend. 

But perhaps you will think that in this last proceeding there was 
a spice of human nature. Be it so ; I do not suppose the good 
man to have been faultless, or incapable of provocation. I paint 
no perfect character. 

In process of time, what at first was mere dissatisfaction with 
the doctrines of Mr. Frelinghuysen became organized and powerful 
opposition, and embraced some of the most wealthy and respect- 
able families in his pastoral charge. It was, no doubt, fostered 
by several clergymen of eminence in his own denomination, who 
professed great attachment to the ancient forms and customs of 
the fatherland. They eventually, allied themselves closely to- 
gether, forming a distinct party in the Dutch church ; and finally 
it resolved itself into the division of Coetus and Conferentie, and 
only died out alter the Revolution, when the churches broke off 
all connection with the Classis of Amsterdam, adopted a consti- 
tution of their own, and began to move forward in the very 
course which Mr. Frelinghuysen had pointed out. 

The publications of which I have spoken are all in the Dutch 
language. Copies of them exist in the collections of the Histori- 
cal Society in New-York. The sermons are of a high order of 



174 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



excellence. Direct, pungent, and practical, they aim at the heart, 
and seem calculated effectually to reach it. It is questionable 
whether they are surpassed in this peculiar characteristic by any 
sermons of their day. In my judgment, at least, they have not 
been superseded, or rendered useless, by any thing which has 
since proceeded from the press. 

As a scholar, Mr. Frelinghuysen was more than respectable, if 
not absolutely eminent. The fact of his having been called in 
his youth to such a position as the rectorship of the Academy of 
Embden is sufficient proof of this. But we have that which is 
more direct : a small volume containing the Heidelberg Cate- 
chism in Latin, with blank leaves intervening, for the purpose of 
notes and observations, exists, in which the preparations to 
preach on the different Lord's days are made in that language ; 
manifesting as great a familiarity with it as if it had been his 
vernacular ; and constantly and habitually quoting also the Greek, 
and writing its characters quite caligraphically. Besides these 
evidences of scholarship, there are so many classic allusions found 
in all his discourses, as to prove conclusively his intimate fami- 
liarity with classic literature. I conclude, therefore, that he was 
unquestionably a ripe scholar in both the Latin and Greek 
languages. I am disposed to rank Theodoras Jacobus Freling- 
huysen among the eminent men of his age, a compeer with the 
B lairs and the Tennents, with Stoddard and the Mathers. I 
think it questionable whether any one of all these exerted a wider 
influence, or benefited the cause of practical religion more largely. 
Living for forty years amid the very scenes where this influence 
was felt, ministering in the very church the infancy of which it 
fostered, and having had every opportunit}?- to observe the deep 
reverence with which his memory is even yet cherished, I may 
speak earnestly but not too partially. He was a great and good 
man. The cause of practical religion owes him much. 

The exact date of Mr. Frelinghuysen's death has not been 
ascertained. It must have been previous to April 26th, 17 J 8, 
since the Elder Hendrick Fisher reported to the Coetus in New- 
York at that date the vacancy of the church at New-Brunswick. 
His remains were laid in the old churchyard at Three-Mile Run, 
under an apple-tree on the north side. Some remains of the 
stump of this tree are said still to be visible. No monument has 
ever been erected to his memory ; but his well-spent life, in build- 
ing up churches in a territory embracing over two hundred 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



175 



square miles, and embracing at the present time more than fifty 
congregations, is his most fitting memorial ; he needs no other. 

His wife, named Eva, was a daughter of Albert Terhune, of 
Flatbush, Long Island, a farmer of wealth and respectability. 
Her excellence and piety as a mother are attested abundantly by 
the fruits of her care ; all her children devoted themselves early 
to God. Whether she survived him, or when and where she died, 
is not known. All his children were Levites. His five sons de- 
voted themselves to the ministry, and his two daughters united 
themselves with ministers. 

It may be a matter of interest and importance to enter some- 
what more minutely into the character and the motives of the 
opposition which Mr. Frelinghuysen encountered at Raritan. It 
is not only common for a revival of religion to stir up the enmity 
of the human heart, even among professing Christians ; but, in 
this instance, the character and motives of the opponents give an 
insight into the real nature of the dispute. It was in existence 
before he came, and finally merged itself . into the division of the 
whole church into what is known as the Coetus and Conference 
parties. We have as our guide a document which the opponents 
of Mr. Frelinghuysen themselves put forth, and which, therefore, 
they can not gainsay. It is a pamphlet of 150 pages, drawn up 
with lawyerlike skill and talent — apparently by Mr. Boel, a bro- 
ther of one of the collegiate pastors in New- York, who is called 
" the advocate?'' The following is a fair summary of the argu- 
ments employed to condemn Mr. Frelinghuysen. It is put forth 
in the name of three prominent elders in the churches which he 
was serving — Simon Wyckoff, Peter Dumont, and Ilendrick Vroom. 
They accuse their pastor of preaching false doctrine, and depart- 
ing from the order and usages of the church. In proof of the 
charge, they specify that when he first came, he declined to admit 
to the Lord's Supper any except those who could give a satisfac- 
tory account of their Christian experience, even though they had 
been regular members of the church; that he insisted strenuously 
on the necessity of a change of heart ; that he said on a sacra- 
mental occasion at Six-Mile Run, that he knew there were indi- 
viduals who had " eaten and drunken judgment to themselves ;" 
that he allowed persons to be put into church office against whom 
there were unfavorable reports ; and when told what these reports 
were, he characterized them as " old wives' fables." The indi- 
viduals referred to in this last charge seem to have been Ilendrick 



176 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



Fisher, and his friend and brother-in-law, Sclmreman, the teacher. 
Against both these men a violent popular clamor had been excit- 
ed, mostly, it seems, because they sympathized with the dominie, 
and supported him. Sclmreman came with him from Holland, and 
acted as a school-master ; and they accused him of being unwilling 
to teach the children the Lord's Prayer, because it was a w form," 
and the use of it encouraged "formalism." They also pretend 
that the results of his preaching produced dissension and divisions, 
even in private families, and bring forward a letter of young Peter 
Wortman to his parents, as an' instance in point. The letter is 
most unfortunate for the cause which it is given to strengthen. 
Reading it dispassionately, it seems to us strange that so much 
could have been attempted to be made of it. It is simply a fer- 
vent and affectionate appeal from a pious young man to his father 
and mother, to pause and consider and turn to the Lord. Just 
such a letter as we have no doubt has often been written to other 
parents when all the joy and peace of a recent conversion were 
present to an ingenuous mind. AVe think better of the heart of 
that young man, and worse of the spirit of the cause attempted to 
be advanced by quoting it. 

Besides these main facts, a great variety of other circumstances 
are enumerated ; for instance, that at North-Branch, at the first 
communion, he partook first of the elements himself, and then 
winked and beckoned to certain women to come forward, and gave 
next to them ; that at Six-Mile Run he gave it to Sclmreman alone, 
and made an address, and then afterward to others who are 
named ; that lie refused to baptize certain children, because he 
said their parents belonged to Claas Hayman's people ; that in his 
family visitations he was very severe, and, as they expressed it, 
"knocked down" the hopes and confidence, even of those who 
had long belonged to the church ; that he expressed a want of 
confidence in the religious character of persons who were unim- 
peached ; that he would not comfort the sick, but alarmed them 
by preaching the necessity of conversion, especially when they did 
not belong to his party. But the burden of the whole is, " valse 
leer" and " wedergeborte," that is, false doctrine and regenera- 
tion ; and the fact that after he had cited them and they refused 
to appear, he had suspended them from the communion of the 
church. 

As the result, then, of the whole complaint, as stated by their 
own advocate, we arrive at the following conclusion : The oppo- 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



177 



sition at first had its origin in a disrelish of plain, practical, and 
earnest preaching on the part of men who were really more for- 
malists than any thing else ; that it was fostered by a partisan view 
of the question, what were the rights and what the interests of 
the churches in America, and how far they ought to remain sub- 
ordinate to the ecclesiastical authority in Holland ; that the ques- 
tion in the church at large Avas embittered by conflicts of feeling 
— perhaps ambition and influence ; that it co?itinued, because there 
could be no compromise, since principle, faith, and Christian expe- 
rience were involved in it ; while, on the other hand, at Raritan 
there was no abatement of the first disrelish of evangelical preach- 
ing, but rather an increase of dislike, as the work of grace went 
on, and the power of the truth became more and more manifest 
in the numerous conversions in all the churches to which Mr. Fre- 
linghuysen ministered. Thus is our judgment formed from read- 
ing their complaint. The fact is, that in Somerset County, and 
more so elsewhere, the Coetus men were the men of evangelical 
life and sentiment — the men of progress, of practical piety, prayer, 
and godliness ; that the others were the men of exact order, forms, 
rules ; and they felt it to be necessary to maintain all this, at any 
expense of convenience or of progress. It was the Fatherland, 
the churches in the Fatherland, their authority and ecclesiastical 
supremacy ; and not what the circumstances and exigencies of the 
churches here demanded. Time has justified the liberality and 
advancement contended for by the one, and condemned the con- 
tracted and illiberal spirit manifested by the others. Our college, 
our seminary, our advancement in every necessary enterprise are 
all results of what was then contended for. The success of Con- 
ferentie would have been ultimately destructive to every church 
which had been planted in New- Amsterdam and her dependencies. 
They may have been good men, and honest and sincere in their 
views and in their course ; but we can not commend either their 
spirit or their plans of action. There was no adaptation to cir- 
cumstances, and no provision for progress and enlargement. The 
war of words was long and bitter, but it ended where such conten- 
tions always end — in a victory for liberty, advancement, and 
action. 

"We have also obtained from this old pamphlet some interesting 
historical facts. Frelinghuysen was a minister in East-Friesland 
before he came over to America, and a member of the Synod of 
Emberlandt. The call which he accepted was sent to Holland by 



ITS 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



the Rev. Bernardus Freeman, of Flatbush, Long Island, and was 
approved by the above synod. He came to the Classis of Am- 
sterdam on recommendation and dismission, and having been re- 
ceived by them, was commended earnestly to the ministers and 
churches in Xew-Xetherland. lie arrived in New- York in the 
winter of 1710 and 1720, and preached for Dominie Boel in one 
of the collegiate churches on the 17th of January, 1720. This was 
his first public service, and properly his recognition by the church. 
He can have been here but a few days previous to this date. On 
this occasion he omitted the use of the Lord's Prayer, both on the 
opening and conclusion of the service. This led to a conversation 
between himself and Boel. which seems to have resulted in a loss 
of confidence on the part of both. They ascertained that there 
was between them a wide difference and diversity of view and 
spirit ; and Frelinghuysen afterward termed such men as BoeL 
"fbrmalisten." Schureman is reported to have said that the 
church at New-York was i; een heydense kerk" — a heathenish 
church. 

In May, 1720, the widow Coevers testifies tbat he had not then 
yet been four months in his pastoral charge. This is a confirma- 
tion of the date of his arrival being about January 1st, and of his 
having taken his charge about the 1st of February. TThen he 
came, it is said the people were generous to him, and instead of 
the five acres promised in the call, provided fifty acres for him. 
and built him a large house. 

On the 3d of March, 1720. a month after his settlement, he 
wrote from New-Brunswick, by Schureman, to Dominie Boel. re- 
questing him to purchase for him ' ; een sulver sak horologe'' — a 
silver watch; and in a concluding paragraph of his letter append- 
ed a warm practical exhortation to the practice of true piety, 
which was afterward quoted against him as presuming, in so 
young a man ; and another instance to the same effect is given of 
the same thing in a letter to Dominie Duboise. 

The complaint, besides the names of Simon YTyekoft, Peter 
Diimont, and Ileiidriek Vroom, is signed by sixty-four heads of 
families, of which fourteen had been either elders or deacons, five 
church masters, and two justices of the peace. These names are 
evidently gathered from all the congregations, and formed the 
strength of the opposition. It is certainly not a formidable force ; 
but it contained enough to make — as it did — a lasting trouble. 
Frelinghuysen never saw the end of it. We give these names to 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



179 



indicate the weight of the opposition, in other words, the Confc- 
rentie men at this time, namely, Cornells Tnnisen, Jan Tuniser, 
Jan Hendricksen, Jan Broca, Pieter Kinne, Jeronimus Van Nest, 
Aart Aarsen, Albert Low/Adrian Lane, Esq., Lucas Schermer- 
hoorn, Coert Jansen, Adrian Hegeman, Jan Vliet, Hendrick Jan- 
sen, Ary Molenaar, Ary Boerem, Jacob Buys, Jan Woertman, 
Adrian Ten Eyck, Hendrik Emmans, Nicolas Heyl, Jan Yan 
Sickelen, Fredrick Yan Leewen, Jacobus Bennet, Sen., Jacobus 
Bennet, Jun., Pieter Hoff, Jacob Probasco, widow Johannes Coe- 
vers, Christofel Hooglandt, Wilem Yan Duyn, Gysbert Krom, 
Wilem Krom, Abram Le Foy, Hannes Speeter, Frans Waldron, 
Nicolas Hayman, Coos Vroom, Joost Schamp, Jacobus Stryker, 
Sarah Brinkerhoff, widow of Jacob Rapelje, Leendert Smak, 
George Anderson, Thomas Bort, Abraham Gray, John Piffenger, 
Andries Andriesen, Michel Moor, Adolf Ilardenbrook, Pieter Bo- 
dyn, Tunis Yan Middles waert Cornelisen, Cornells Teunissen, Jan 
Middleswaert, Jun., Gideon Mertel, Burgon Coevers, Gysbert 
Lane, Abraham Selover, Denys Yan Duyn, Hendrik Smak, Cor- 
nells De Hart, Isaak Bennet, Adrian Bennet — and of the dead 
Hendrik Traphagen for his widow, Danielm de Voor, David 
Marines, Cristofel Beekman for his widow. 

The church officers, on March 28th, 1723, were Joses Yan Neste, * 
Johannes Sebring, of the consistory of Raritan, Barent De Witt, 
Dirck Yan Arsdalen, Six-Mile Run ; Roelif Nevius, Minne Voor- 
hees, Three-Mile Run ; Cornelius Bogaardt, Andries Ten Eyck, 
North-Branch, and Elbert Stoothoff, clerk. These names are ap- 
pended to a citation to the opponents to ajipear before consistory. 

May 9th, 1723, a second citation is signed by Joses Yan Nest, 
Hendrik Bries, Barent De Witt, Jan Stryker, Thomas Boerum, 
Emanuel Yan Netten, Andries Ten Eyck, Elbert Stoothoff, clerk. 

The dissatisfaction, it seems, began as soon as Mr. Frelinghuy- 
sen settled. As early as 1721, the Messrs. Boel, the Dominie and 
Advocate, had written a letter of encouragement to the disaffect- 
ed, which led Mr. Frelinghuysen to stigmatize them as " advisers 
to evil, and mischief-makers •" and it is sufficiently evident that 
throughout the whole course of the dispute, these men, with 
others, by countenance and advice, strengthened and embittered 
the opposition. When a difficulty arose about salary, they were 
at once consulted ; but after Coers Yroom had been sued before 
justices Hendrik Roseboom and Jacob Sebring, and had been 
mulcted in expense, there was no more refusal to pay subscriptions. 



180 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



On December 11th, 1721, a letter was obtained from Michael 
Van Veghten, upon whose land the "new church" was built, and 
which was now nearly completed, (this fixes the date of the first 
Church edifice at Raritan,) to the effect that Schureman should 
clear himself from the scandal attached to him, before the consis- 
tory, and in this way peace be restored, or Frelinghuysen should 
not go in the pulpit. A compromise was effected, and it was 
agreed that he might preach, provided he would publish a meet- 
ing of the four United Consistories from the pulpit, in reference 
to this matter ; but it is added, that it all eventuated in nothing. 
The Consistory of Raritan at this time were Joses Van N"est, Jan 
Bogaardt, elders ; Jan Sebring, Tennis Van Middleswaert, deacons. 

As early as 1721, Mr. Frelinghuysen published his sentiments 
in regard to spiritual or experimental Christianity and church dis- 
cipline, and gave offense; and in July, 1723, he printed a refuta- 
tion of what is called " a letter without a name, or a warning to 
all the lovers of the truth." This pamphlet seems to be lost ; a 
small fragment is all that Ave have ever seen. 

In 1722, about the time of Easter, Hendrik Fisher was appoint- 
ed a deacon in the church at Six -Mile Ran, and Johannes Tol- 
kertsz and Charles Fonteyn, elders ; Fisher being at that time a 
'young man. This appointment was objected to by Simon AVyck- 
off, on the ground of unfavorable reports against his character. 
Witnesses were examined in the presence of David Marines, Esq., 
namely, Adrian Bennet, Willem Van Gelder, and Paul Auten ; 
but Frelinghuysen, convinced there was no ground for the reports, 
proceeded to ordain him. This created also a great clamor. 

In the midst of all, however, the friends of. practical piety re- 
mained firm in their attachment to their pastor, falling back 
always upon the manifest power of his preaching, and the con- 
stant witness and presence of the Holy Spirit in the conversion of 
sinners ; and results have justified them fully. 

In the beginning of his ministry, Frelinghuysen and Schureman 
boarded together at the house of Hendrik Reynierez ; but where 
exactly he lived is not ascertained. It was somewhere in the 
vicinity of the Three-Mile Run church. Even this intimacy be- 
tween the dominie and his school-master o3casioned unfavorable 
remarks, Afterward they married sisters, daughters of Albert 
Terhune, on Long Island. Mrs. Frelinghuysen's name was Eva ; 
and the early piety of her five sons and two daughters shows 
fairly what a woman she must have been — a helper of her husband 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



181 



in all his work, and most in his own house ! Schureman, in some 
way, did not succeed in securing the confidence of the community, 
and may have increased the difficulties of Mr. Frelinghuysen's 
situation. Even his friend Dominie Freeman, of Long Island, is 
reported to have said, " Had Frelinghuysen dat esel Schureman 
niet mede gebraghte, soude nooyt so ver gekomen zyn, nog so een 
trouble of sporting gehadt." The candor of this opinion remains 
unimpeached so far as facts testify. 

Previous to his accepting the call and coming to America, Fre- 
linghuysen had published a catechism, in the preface to which he 
complimented Jacobus Koelman, a Holland divine, as " a bright star 
in the firmament." This led Boel, of New- York, to stigmatize him 
as "aKoelmanist and Labbadist;" but in what these divines were 
heterodox we are not able to say. In a word, results have proved 
that in the spirit of his course, if not in every detail, he was in 
the right, and his enemies in the wrong. Charity leads us to add, 
that much of their wrong was due to the opinions and the spirit 
of their associates. 

We proceed to some account of Dominie Frelinghuysen's chil- 
dren. His eldest son was named Theodore, and was born at Three- 
MileRun in 1724 or 1725. He graduated at Princeton College in 
1749 — it would seem while his father was pastor at Albany, as he 
was settled there in 1745, immediately after his return from Hol- 
land, where he had been licensed, after studying theology with 
Goetchius. This was during his father's lifetime. He was the suc- 
cessor of Rev. Cornelius Van Shie, who had died August 15th, 1744. 
He remained at Albany for fifteen years, and was becoming a man 
of influence and power in the churches, earnest in his advocacy of 
the independence of the church from the Classis of Amsterdam, 
and one of the most strenuous advocates of an institution in which 
a ministry could be properly taught and trained. He was so pro- 
minent in this matter that the contemplated seminary and college 
was commonly called by the Conferentie party, " Frelinghuysen's 
academy." He was its most earnest and constant advocate, and 
drew upon himself the reproach of its opponents. At last he felt 
impelled to preach a very pointed sermon against fashionable 
amusements, and especially theatrical representations. He was 
induced to do this by the circumstance of a regiment of royal 
troops being stationed in the city at that time, the officers of which 
had encouraged and promoted these things. On Monday morning 
he found at his door an image with a staff", a silver coin, a pair of 
12 



182 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



shoes, and a loaf of bread. He construed this as an intimation 
for him to leave, and at once determined to do so. Amission had 
been assigned him some time previous, by the Coetus, to collect 
funds in Holland for the purpose of founding a literary and theo- 
logical institution in which he had taken a very deep interest, as 
we have seen. Such an institution was demanded by the wants 
of the church, and the founding of it urged as necessary in order 
to free the churches from dependence upon the Classis of Amster- 
dam, and secure to them a cultivated native ministry and the right 
of ordination. There was, moreover, special encouragement for 
such an effort at that time. Michael Schlatter, of Pennsylvania, 
had just returned from Holland with more than £30,000 for the 
support of schools and the ministry, among the German Reformed 
in that State. Mr. Frelinghuysen sailed from New- York October 
10th, 1759, and never returned. His memory was long precious 
among the godly people in his pastoral charge at Albany, and 
they spoke of him as " the apostolic and much beloved." He was a 
man of more than ordinary abilities and culture, and published a 
catechism in 1748, which received the approbation and indorse- 
ment of the Coetus. He left a young widow, but no children. 
She married again, and recently a will has been discovered which, 
it is said, promises to become the occasion of legal proceedings, on 
account of its devises never having been executed. 

John Frelinghuysen, second son of T. J. Frelinghuysen, was born 
at Three-Mile Run in 1727. He seems to have studied principally 
with his father, then went to Holland, and was absent when his 
father died. He was licensed by the Classis of Amsterdam in 1 750, 
and received an invitation from the churches in Somerset County 
to return and occupy his father's place. A copy of this call is found 
in the minutes of Raritan, dated May 18th, 1747. This call was 
approved by the classis in 1749, and he arrived at Raritan, after 
a long and tedious passage, in midsummer, 1750, and preached at 
Raritan. He preached his introductory sermons at Raritan, Au- 
gust 3d, from the words of the Psalm, " Instead of thy fathers shall 
be thy children," and at North-Branch on the succeeding Sabbath 
(the 10th) from Zech. 4:6," Not by might, nor by power, but by 
my spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts ;" and again in the afternoon from 
Zech. 6 : 12, "Behold the man whose name is the Branch ;" and 
at Millstone on the succeeding Sabbath, the 17th, from the 133d 
Psalm, " Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to 
dwell together in unity." He commenced his ministry in the three 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



183 



congregations, formerly a part of his father's charge, under pro- 
mising auspices. His first effort was to heal divisions, but the 
troublesome Arondeus was among his people laboring to prevent 
it. He built himself a house in Somerville with bricks which had 
been sent over with him from Holland, and commenced by him- 
self a theological school, in which several young men were fitted 
for the ministry ; and every thing promised fair in the future, 
when he was suddenly arrested by death. He died on Long Is- 
land, probably at the house of his mother's parents, on his way to 
the Coetus, on the 15th day of September, 1754, when he had 
preached only three years and one month to his people. 

He married Dinah Van Bergh, of Amsterdam, a woman of 
extraordinary culture and piety, who was afterward known as 
Jaffvrow Hardenbergh, and is yet remembered at Raritan by the 
children of those who had enjoyed the savor of her piety. He 
was the only son of T. J. Frelinghuysen who left descendants, 
and is, therefore, the ancestor of all who have since borne that 
name. 

Jacobus Frelinghuysen, another son of T. J. Frelinghuysen, 
graduated at Princeton 1750, studied theology under Goetchius, 
went to Holland, and was licensed by the Classis of Utrecht, 
1753. He had been called by the churches of Warwarsing, 
Rochester, and Marbletown, in the county of Ulster, but died on 
his passage to America, it is said, from small-pox. 

Ferdinandus Frelinghuysen, another son of T. J. Frelinghuysen, 
was with his brother in Holland, and licensed at the same time. 
He studied under Dorstius and Goetchius, and had been called to 
Kinderhook, but on his way home, in the same vessel with his 
brother, he also died; and so perished on the sea two of the most 
promising young ministers which the church in that day had in ex- 
pectation — a sad commentary on the absurd doctrine that the 
churches in America ought not to have the privilege of ordaining 
their own ministers after she had educated them. 

Henricus Frelinghuysen, another and the youngest son of T. J. 
Frelinghuysen, studied theology under Dorstius and Goetchius, but 
did not go to Holland for licensure. The fate of his two brothers 
seems to have deterred him. Indeed, it had much to do with the 
result, soon after reached, and the determination of the Coetus to 
license their own candidates. He seems, in fact, to have been 
preaching at Warwarsing, Rochester, and Marbletown for almost 
a year before he was really authorized to preach; but in 1755 he 



184 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



was formally admitted to the ministry, and settled in the above- 
mentioned churches, disappointed in the death of his brother Jaco- 
bus. When Theodore of Albany communicated to them the news 
of the disaster at sea, they immediately offered the position to 
Henricus. But disaster seemed to be the order of Providence in 
regard to the young Frelinghuysens ! John died in 1754, Jacobus 
and Ferdinandus in 1753, and now Henricus, in 1757, deceased 
at the house of Mrs. Bevier, at Naponock, of small-pox, only a 
fortnight after he had been ordained at Marbletown. His remains 
were interred in the last-named church, under the pulpit. In 1759, 
two years subsequently, Theodore went to sea, and was never 
heard from. In this way, in less than ten years after the death 
of the father, T. J. Frelinghuysen, the whole of his five sons were 
in their graves, leaving a little child named Frederick, the only 
son of John, and a daughter named Eva, as the only representa- 
tives of the name in America. 

The two daughters, Anna and Margaret, both connected them- 
selves by marriage with clergymen. Anna married the Rev. Wil- 
liam Jackson, long pastor of the church of Bergen. The follow- 
ing epitaph is inscribed on the stone at the head of her grave : 
"Anna Frelinghuysen, consort of Rev. William Jackson, who de- 
parted this life May 3d, 1810, aged 72 years." Her husband, Rev. 
William Jackson, departed this life July 25 th, 1813, aged 81 years. 

Margaretta Frelinghuysen, wife of Rev. T. Romeyn, was born 
November 12th, 1737, married June 29th, 1756, died at Jamaica, 
Long Island, December 23d, 1757, leaving an only child, T. F. 
Romeyn, successor of Dr. Hardenbergh, at Raritan. She was the 
eldest of the two daughters of T. J. Frelinghuysen. Thus Anna 
F., Mrs. Jackson, of all the children, lived to the period of a good 
old age, surviving as the last of her family from 1759 to 1810. 

The last years of Mr. Frelinghuy sen's ministry are left in ob- 
scurity. Even the time of his death is only approximately ascer- 
tained as being previous to April, 1748. His residence during the 
last years of his life was on a farm of 200 acres, bought of Daniel 
Hendrickson for £550, near Three-Mile Run, forming a part of 
the land now or lately owned by John Brunson. It is described 
as being bounded on the south-east by the land of Daniel Flen- 
drickson, north-east by the pretended line of the heirs or assigns 
of Peter Sonmans, north-west by David Seguire, south-west and 
north-west by Cornelius Bennet. He lived at one time in Burnet 
street, New-Brunswick ; but the exact locality cannot be satisfac- 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



185 



torily ascertained. He lives in his deeds, and his monument is 
found in the results of his life, and his abounding labors for 
Christ's church. 

After the sudden deatli of John Frelinghnysen, in 1754, the atten- 
tion of the congregation was directed to Jacob Rutzen Hardenbergh, 
one of his students, who resided in his family at the time of his 
death, and subsequently became the husband of his widow, Dinah 
Van Bero-h. Hardenbero;h was the son of Colonel Johannes Harden- 
bergh, of Rosendale, the original proprietor of the "Hardenbergh 
patent" in Ulster County, and was born in 1738. The date of this 
patent is April 23d, 1708, and the associates of Hardenbergh were 
Leonard Lewis, Philip Rokeby, William Nottingham, Benjamin 
Fanuel, Peter Fauconer, and Robert Livingston. It embraced the 
whole of Sullivan County, and all that part of Delaware east of the 
west or Mohawk branch of Delaware River. 

After his marriage to Mrs. Frelinghuysen, Hardenbergh took her 
to his father's house, and continued his studies until he was licensed 
in 1758. He immediately returned to Raritan to occupy the house 
built by John Frelinghuysen, and had charge of Raritan, North- 
Branch, Neshanich, and Millstone. He continued in this charge until 
1761, when he went to Holland to bring out from thence his wife's 
mother, then a widow, and was accompanied from London by Rev. 
Hermanus Meyers, afterward settled at Kingston. In 1763. Mill- 
stone and Harlingen separated from the other congregations, and 
called the Rev. I. M. Van Harlingen, leaving Hardenbergh Raritan, 
North-Branch, (since Readington,) and Bedminster. He received 
the honor of D.D. from Princeton College in 1770, while pastor here. 
In 1781, he resigned his charge in New- Jersey and removed to his 
father's residence, taking charge, in the mean time, of the church of 
Rochester, in its immediate vicinity. 

TJie following notice of J. R. Hardenbergh was originally written 
and published in Sprague's Annals. We reclaim it for ourselves, 
now, and present it as containing all that is known of its subject. 

Jacobus Rutzen Hardenbergh was born at Rosendale, in the pre- 
sent county of Ulster, (N. Y.,) in the year 1737. He belonged to 
what has sometimes been denominated "the Dutch aristocracy of the 
State of New-York." His ancestor, Johannes Hardenbergh, who was 
by birth a Prussian, migrated to this country some time after the middle 
of the seventeenth century, and is said to have been connected, as an 
officer, with the British service. He left two sons, one of whom set- 
tled on Long Island and the other at Rosendale, about eight miles 



186 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



southwest of the village of Kingston. In connection with Robert 
Livingston he purchased a patent of land, comprehending the whole 
of the present county of Sullivan, and all that part of Delaware 
which lies east of the west or Mohawk branch of the Delaware River, 
and is yet known in the history of New-York as " the Hardenbergh 
patent." His grandson, Colonel Johannes Hardenbergh, the father 
of J. R. Hardenbergh, inherited a large share in this immense estate, 
and resided in the original manorial mansion, w T here the subject of 
the present notice was born. 

His early education, and especially his knowledge of the classics, 
was probably obtained at the academy of Kingston. How long he 
remained in this seminar}'', or to what extent he pursued the study 
of the Latin arid Greek languages, is not known. It is presumed, 
however, that it did not embrace a very thorough course, as every 
historical notice of his education agrees in asserting that he had not 
enjoyed the same advantages of learning as most of his contempo- 
raries in the ministry of the Dutch Church. Indeed, the want of 
sufficient early learning is one of the most prominent facts in his 
history, as it has been transmitted to posterity in those brief notices 
of his life w T hich remain. 

Nor are we able to give any account of the circumstances or the 
time of his conversion. His father belonged to the Coetus or evan- 
gelical party in the church, w T hich indicates that he enjoyed the ad- 
vantages of early religious instruction and a pious example at home. 
That there was nothing remarkable in it may be inferred from the 
fact that no tradition of it exists among his posterity. 

In 1754, when John Frelinghuysen died so suddenly at Raritan, in 
the very springtide of his influence and usefulness, we find young 
Hardenbergh (together with Rynear Tan Nest and Matthew Leydt) 
a student of theology, residing in the family. He seems to have 
remained there at least several months after this time, if the anecdote 
referring to the marriage with the widow be correct. This marriage 
took place within a year of the death of her husband, under circum- 
stances somewhat peculiar. 

Mrs. Frelinghuysen (Dinah Van Bergh) was a native of Amster- 
dam, in Holland, and was married to John Frelinghuysen, it is said, 
in opposition to the wish of her father, and she accompanied her hus- 
band on his return to his native country, after completing his theo- 
logical course, and receiving license from the classis of Amsterdam. 
His father, the Rev. T. J. Frelinghuysen, had died during his ab- 
sence, and he returned, by invitation, to take charge of the congrega- 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



187 



tions which had thus become vacant. Her early bereavement, after 
living with her husband — for whom she had left all — only about 
three years, far from her friends, and in a strange land, made her 
situation trying in the extreme. After a few months, she determined 
to return, like Naomi, to her native land, and claim again the shelter 
and protection of the paternal roof for herself and her two children. 
The preparations were all made, and the day appointed to leave 
Raritan for the purpose of embarking at New-York, when young 
Hardenbergli surprised her by an offer of marriage. He had con- 
templated it for some time, and had consulted with some of the offi- 
cers of the church in regard to its propriety ; but, on account of the 
yet so recent death of her husband, only brought himself to the point 
of making an avowal of his feelings when it could be no longer post- 
poned. She is said to have received it with an exclamation of sur- 
prise : " My child, what are you thinking about The result, how- 
ever, was that the arrangements to remove were countermanded, 
and the voyage to Holland abandoned. They were married soon 
after, and she went to reside with his father at Rosendale, until he 
had finished his theological course and received license to preach the 
Gospel. 

He was ordained by the Coetus in 1167, and was the first minister 
in the Dutch Church in America who had not been obliged to go to 
Holland for the purpose of study, examination, and licensure. His 
ministry at Raritan commenced on the 1st of May, 1758, where he 
occupied the ample mansion, which John Frelinghuysen had just 
finished at the time of his decease, and which he intended for a theo- 
logical institution. Thus a few years brought the widow back again 
to the scene of her first domestic enjoyments and trials, and placed 
her in the circle of her first and best friends. In August of the 
same year he was regularly installed as the pastor of the five united 
congregations of Raritan, North-Branch, Bedminster, Millstone, and 
New-Shannack. Here he labored diligently and acceptably in this 
immense field until October, 1761, when Millstone and New-Shan- 
nack separated, aud called the Rev. John M. Van Harlingen as their 
pastor, and Hardenbergh continued to preach to the other three. 

In the mean time, during the years 1762 and 1763, or part of each, 
he had made a voyage to Holland for the purpose of bringing over 
the mother of his wife, who, having become a widow, preferred to 
migrate to America, that she might enjoy the society of her daugh- 
ter, rather than remain in her loneliness in her native land. Tnat 
he should do so, is said to have been one of the stipulations of the 



188 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



marriage contract. He was the first American minister who ap- 
peared in Holland after the flames of the celebrated contest of Coe- 
tus and Conference had been enkindled. He returned in safety, 
having accomplished the design of his voyage, and gave the shelter 
of his home ever after to his mother-in-law, who finally died at his 
house at Raritan, where her remains repose. 

Soon the memorable contest for independence commenced, and 
during two winters the army of Washington was encamped within 
the bounds of his pastoral charge. On the 26th of October, 1779, a 
company of the Queen's Rangers, under the command of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Simcoe, made an incursion into Somerset County for the pur- 
pose of burning some boats which had been transported from the 
Delaware, and were; lying in the water of the Raritan, near Yan 
Vechten's bridge, a few yards above the church ; and, not satisfied 
with accomplishing successfully their object, also set fire to and 
burned the church edifice to the ground. In the account which 
Colonel Simcoe has given of this outrage he excuses the act, by say- 
ing that the church had been made a depot of forage, and that a 
rifle-shot was fired at the soldiers from the opposite side of the river. 
The forage consisted of some ropes and tackle — used in bringing the 
boats from the Delaware — left outside of the church, and the shot 
was from a young man who had been out shooting pigeons, and when 
lie saw the dragoons engaged in setting fire to the boats, from a dis- 
tance of some two hundred yards, discharged his shot-gun to alarm 
them, and then ran off to escape pursuit. These facts we have learned 
from an eye-witness, and they admit of no question. They leave 
the barbarity of the action without excuse, to call down upon it the 
indignation of all right-thinking men. From Raritan the Rangers 
proceeded to Millstone, where they also burnt the court-house of 
Somerset County ; but in the neighborhood of ISTew-B runs wick they 
were met by some militia, hastily drawn from that city, who shot 
the horse of Colonel Simcoe, and made the colonel himself a prisoner, 
his men escaping, by the fleetness of their horses, to South River, 
Avhere an ambuscade had been prepared to protect them by a column 
of the British army under General Armstrong. This expedition is 
spoken of by military men as one of the handsomest exploits of the 
war. It was so, indeed ; pity that it should have been stained by 
such a wanton act of barbarity as the burning of a house dedicated 
to the worship of almighty God, when, according to all the testi- 
mony of all the parties, there was not a human being near it whom, 
as an enemy, it could have sheltered, and so provoked an attack. 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



189 



The effect was most disastrous to the cause of religion in this com- 
munity, for, amid the pressure of the war, and the general derange- 
ments of all civil affairs, it was several years before the people were 
in a condition to provide themselves with another house of worship. 
Indeed, it was not effected until after Mr. Hardenbergh had closed 
his labors at Raritan. 

The ministry of Mr. Hardenbergh at Raritan, embracing a period 
of twenty-five years, furnished abundant and incontestable evidence 
of his energy, his evangelical spirit, his uncompromising opposition 
to every form of evil, and his ardent love for the souls of men and 
the glory of God. The church, however, although it gradually in- 
creased in numbers and strength, does not appear at any time to 
have enjoyed any special outpouring of the Holy Spirit. How could 
it ? Such a state of things was not to be expected. The ministry of 
Mr. Hardenbergh embraced the period of the Revolution — more un- 
favorable to spiritual religion than any other period since the first 
settlements of the country. This great convulsion in the political 
world shook the very foundations of society to their centre, gave a 
loose rein to every immoral influence, and brought in a flood of 
wickedness, impiety, and intemperance into the land. The records 
of the church show in many places how impetuously it rolled on, and 
how nobly the godly man struggled against it. More than one 
solemn protest is recorded there against the increasing dissoluteness 
of manners resulting from the war. It was strange enough, circum- 
stanced as he was, in the very scene of action, armies marching fre- 
quently, and sometimes encamping for months in the very heart of 
his charge, that he was not entirely displaced and driven away — as 
so many of his brethren were in other places even less exposed — and 
that in such a state of things he should be able, by his prudence, to 
escape unscathed amid the fire. He was a devoted friend to the 
popular cause, and took no pains to conceal his opinions. Says one 
of his descendants: " I have heard my grandmother say, that during 
that dark period, when the American army had retreated before 
their enemies, and lay encamped in the county of Somerset, General 
Washington was a frequent visitor at their house, and, when in the 
neighborhood, made it his headquarters; that the old gentleman was 
an ardent patriot, who took occasion frequently to stir up the people 
from the pulpit; that the British general offered a reward of one hun- 
dred pounds for his apprehension ; that he always slept with a loaded 
musket in his room, and was often obliged to leave his home with 
arms in his hands, and roam about the country, to prevent being 



190 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



seized by the Tories. The old lady lias told me that, out of six or 
seven individuals who undertook his arrest, and offered to produce 
him to the British general, every one had died within a few weeks 
of each other — several of them by the sniali-pox. 

But, besides all this, there was also a revolution in the church in 
progress at the same time, the effect of which must have been, to some 
extent, detrimental to the growth of practical piety. This contest is 
known, in the history of the Eeformed Dutch Church, as the dispute 
between the Coetus and Conferentie, and its bitter fruits continued 
until near the close of the ministry of Mr. Hardenbergh. In such a 
state of things revivals of religion were out of the question, and it is 
sufficient praise for Mr. Hardenbergh to be able to record his stead- 
fast, unwearied, and onward course, increasing daily in the affections 
of the people and in his power to do them good. Could any thing 
more have been reasonably anticipated ? 

In 1770, application was made to the governor of New- Jersey for 
a charter of incorporation for a college and theological institution, to 
be known as Queen's College. In effecting this object, Dr. Harden- 
bergh (for he had now just received the degree of Doctor of Divinity 
from Princeton College) was chiefly instrumental. He was, at that 
time, one of the most prominent and influential individuals named in 
the grant and petition. To the presidency of this institution he was 
unanimously elected by the trustees in 1786. During the interven- 
ing period, from the time of the granting of the charter, a professor 
and tutor had been employed to teach the students that might at- 
tend. But, for part of the time, New-Brunswick was occupied by 
the British army, and I have seen an advertisement giving notice 
that the exercises of the college would be continued at a private 
house at the head of Raritan, during one of these years. 

In 1781, Dr. Hardenbergh resigned his pastoral charge at Raritan, 
and removed to Rosendale, and, while there, continued to serve the 
church — known at present as Rochester — until, in consequence of 
being chosen to the presidency of Queen's College, he removed to 
New-Brunswick. The fact of his election to such a responsible 
place is sufficient evidence of the estimation in which he was held in 
the church, when it is recollected that there were such men as Laid- 
lee, Westerlo, Meyer, and Romeyn to compete with. % Considering 
the deficiency in his early training, (to which reference has been 
made,) it must have required no small share of industry, perseve- 
rance, and mental power to win such a reputation and fit himself 
for such a place, all the duties of which he performed, with perhaps 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



191 



a single assistant; so that lie was, in fact, a teacher of the whole cir- 
cle of the sciences and liberal arts ! During the time of his presi- 
dency he also served the church at New-Brunswick as pastor. The 
labor of filling the two places must have been immense, and it is 
said to have been connected with the loss of his health and his 
speedy dissolution. He was spared only four years to devote him- 
self to the interests of learning in an institution which he had, as it 
were, created by his personal influence and exertions. 

But any notice of Dr. Hardenbergh which should attempt to ac- 
count for his usefulness and his success would be incomplete, if it 
failed to recognize the fact that a large share of it was attributable 
to the influence of his wife, Dinah Van Bergh. She was the daugh- 
ter of Louis Yan Bergh, a merchant of Amsterdam, who had accu- 
mulated a large fortune in the East-India trade. She was born (says 
one of her descendants) in a house on the Prince Graaft — an engraving 
of which she brought with her and often showed — on the 10th of 
February, 1725. Her father was a man of fashion and of pleasure, 
devoting much of his time to the amusements of the day, and with- 
out any special regard to religion. He had but two children, both 
daughters, one of whom died in early life. The survivor he intended 
to educate and introduce into all the gayeties and fashion of the 
luxurious metropolis, and her education certainly was superior. 
Her mind was stored with all the solid parts of learning, and her 
taste cultivated in an eminent degree. But Providence designed her 
to move in a different sphere, and thwarted all his schemes. Her 
religious impressions commenced as early as her fourteenth year, 
and soon created, on her part, a strong disrelish for all amusements 
and fashionable frivolity. On one occasion, she refused to attend the 
dancing-school to which her father wished her to go. This so en- 
raged him that he immediately ordered 1$ie carriage to be got up, 
and took her there himself. She, however, persisted in refusing to 
dance, and as soon as he left hid herself behind the seats. This is 
supposed to have occurred when she was only fourteen years of age. 
In her diary, however, she assigns the beginning of the year 1747, 
when she was in her twenty-first year, as the time when she decid- 
edly and forever gave herself unto the Lord, to his service, and to 
his people, to be his, and to live for him alone. It was in the middle 
of the night — after twelve o'clock — when she had been engaged in 
prayer, that she felt her heart drawn out to Christ. The promises 
came home with power, and she took him to be her Saviour and Re- 
deemer, and relied alone upon the merits of his blood to pardon all 



192 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



her sins and bring her to God. " Oh, how sweet," says she, was the 
happiness which my soul then first knew, and how I longed to have 
all that which was old in me taken away, and to have more and 
more of that which was new wrought in me by the Holy Ghost ; 
and how I rejoiced in the fullness of the provisions of his gracious 
covenant !" 

The manuscript journal from which I have quoted, and which 
now lies before me, consisting of sixty folio pages written in a small, 
lady-like, and beautiful hand, furnishes abundant evidence of her 
deep spiritual-mindedness and piety, as well as of her literary taste 
and culture. It abounds with passages breathing the most ardent 
Christian love, the deepest sense of dependence, the strongest faith 
in Jesus Christ as the only and all-sufficient Saviour, and the most 
earnest supplications for grace and strength. 

She adverts to the enjoyment which she found in a little praying 
circle of young females of her own age, and records many of the sub- 
jects which they were accustomed to make a matter of special inter- 
cession — the church, the interests of religion in her native land and in 
the world, their country in war with France, Scotland, the English 
Church in Amsterdam, the Stadtholder and Prince of Orange, the 
Princess in her hour of peril. She records many special answers to 
prayer, which she received, one of which I will relate in an abbreviat- 
ed form. She was in the constant habit of making every thing which 
concerned her a matter of intercourse with the Throne of Grace — 
even her visits among her friends. On one occasion, she received an 
invitation to spend some time with a Christian friend, in the city of 
Rotterdam. She felt at first indisposed to accept, but afterward 
thought that, in answer to prayer, she had received an invitation that 
would result in good. She went, but was soon prostrated with a se- 
vere illness, which brought her very low, and continued for several 
months. Her physician, whom she represents as an unbeliever in the 
doctrine of a special providence, told her at last that her case was 
hopeless, and intimated that she ought to abandon the idea of life, or 
of returning again to her friends, and prepare for death. But at night? 
when alone, she lifted up her heart to God, and thought she had an 
intimation that on a certain day — the 16th of September — she would 
leave her bed and become convalescent. She mentioned it to her in- 
timate friend, and confidently trusted in God to bring it to pass. The 
day came, and although previous to that morning she had been so 
weak as to be unable to help herself from her bed to the sick-chair, 
yet she arose, and with a little assistance walked several times across 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



193 



the room, and was soon able to return to her father's house. The 
circumstance was so striking, that it became the means of awaken- 
ing and converting the unbelieving physician, for he felt that the 
hand of God must have been in it. 

One of the most remarkable features of her diary is the pleasure 
which she habitually expresses in the public worship of God. Several 
individuals whose preaching she heard are named, but she styles 
Dominie Temmink her dear and heart-loved father in the Gospel. She 
seems to have been peculiarly sensitive to the influence of the reli- 
gious affections — a very woman with a heart gushing with feeling and 
sensibility— a poetess in fact, not only in sentiment, but in practice. 
Many of her poetic effusions were in existence among her descendants 
long after her decease. A manuscript is spoken of as containing 
poems which she composed after each of the visits which she received 
from Mr. Frelinghuysen, before her marriage to him, with many 
others, breathing out her religious affections, and commemorating the 
various dealings of God with her soul. But the crowning virtue of 
her character was the deeply spiritual nature of her piety. She drank 
copiously at the fountain of love, and delighted to bask in the sun- 
shine of the divine favor! To the close of her life, she was eminently 
devotional, and habitually made the most ordinary occurrences of life 
an occasion of pious discourse. In the fields, every tree and shrub 
and flower afforded an emblem of some gospel truth. In the spring, 
the first flowers were affectionately sent to her by her intimate 
friends, and in the summer she seldom sat down with her needle, 
without having first gathered and placed before her a vase of flow- 
ers ; and then she would gaze upon them, drink in their fragrance, 
spiritualize their beauties, and seem to be filled with an endless and 
boundless admiration of their forms, their tints, and their aroma. 

With such endowments of mind, and such rich experiences of the 
influence of the Gospel, it is not strange that she should have been 
regarded by the pious as a safe counselor in their various trials, and 
that she should have been resorted to by so many for direction and 
advice. It is said that Dr. Condit, during the time that she resided 
in New-Brunswick, after the death of Dr. Hardenbergh, seldom en- 
tered his pulpit on a Sabbath morning without pausing for a mo- 
ment at the pew of this excellent woman, to listen to a remark of en- 
couragement or comfort, which she was sure to have in store for 
him ! She was, indeed, a woman eminent in her knowledge of experi- 
mental godliness, and wise in spiritual tilings. Like Mary, she de- 
lighted to sit at the feet of Jesus. Like Hannah, she devoted all that 



194 



HISTORICAL XOTES. 



she had to the Lord. Like Harriet Xewell, she forsook her home, 
her native land, the refinements of polished society, the pleasure of 
literary culture, the fellowship of her church and her Christian com- 
panions, and the instruction and care of her heart-loved, spiritual 
father, and went forth as a missionary, the wife of a missionary, into 
a distant, uncultivated, almost uncivilized land, never again to see 
the faces of those she loved, or to feast her eyes with the beauty of 
those pleasant faces upon which her heart dwelt with unmingled rap- 
ture, or to commune with familiar friends, or repose under the shelter 
of parental love. Xoble woman ! Noble resolution, that could at- 
tempt so much ! Xoble piety, that could make such sacrifices for the 
love of souls ! Nor did she, when they were made, repine in secret 
at the experience of the painful reality. Her courage never forsook 
her, her confidence in God never failed ; nor did she, in her exile, ever 
K cast one lonsrino;, lin^erinsc look behind. " She lived for the cause 
which she had chosen, and died in the land of her adoption. 

Xow, have I not justified the opinion already expressed, that Dr. 
Hardenbergh owed much of his success as a minister, and of the emi- 
nence and usefulness to which he attaiued, to his wife. With such a 
companion to counsel and stimulate him to activity, it was hardly 
possible that he should be only an ordinary man. 

In person, Dr. Hardenbergh was slender, but his appearance was 
grave and dignified. His habit was consumptive, and he finally fell 
a victim to a pulmonary affection. Says one of his contemporaries : 
' His mind was not only strong, but distinguished by the power of 
nice discrimination. He was thoroughly read in theology, and pos- 
sessed, besides, a large stock of general learning for the times ; and, to 
crown the whole, he was distinguished for his piety. Wherever he 
went a blessing attended his labors. As might be expected from 
such endowments, he maintained a high standing in the ministry. 
Large confidence was reposed in him, and his influence in the church 
seemed scarcely to have a limit." The following tribute to Dr. Har- 
denbergh is from an address delivered by Dr. Livingston at the com- 
mencement of Queen's College, in September, 1810: "At the close of 
the Revolutionary War, the trustees made some efforts to revive it, 
(Queen's College,) and called the Rev. Dr. Hardenbergh to be the 
president. That great and good man, in his zeal for religion and 
attachment to the Dutch Church, accepted the invitation. He devot- 
ed his distinguished talents and precious life to the arduous task of 
bringing the institution, still destitute of patronage, into the public 
notice and successful operation. But the task was too severe. Un- 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



195 



der the additional weight of parochial duties, which at the same 
time lie sustained to this church, (New-Brunswick,) he gradually 
wasted his strength, and sank under a burden too heavy for one 
man, however fortified with genius or industry, to sustain." 

On his tomb, in the city of New-Brunswick, the following inscrip- 
tion has been placed: "Here lies the body of J. R. Hardenbergh, 
D.D., late Pastor of this Church, who departed this life the 30th day 
of October, 1*790, aged 52 years — months — days. He was a zealous 
Preacher of the Gospel, and his life and conversation afforded, from 
his earliest days, to all who knew him, a bright example of piety. He 
was a steadfast Patriot, and in his public and private conduct he 
manifested himself to be the enemy of tyranny and oppression, the 
lover of freedom, and the friend of his country. He has gone to his 
Lord and Redeemer, in whose atonement he confidently trusted. He 
is gone to receive the fruits of his labors and the reward of a well- 
spent life. Reader, while you lament the loss of society and his 
friends, go walk in his virtuous footsteps, and when you have finished 
the work assigned you, you shall rest with him in eternal peace." 

After the decease of her husband, Mrs. Hardenbergh made the 
house of her youngest son her home, and her widowhood was pro- 
tracted for seventeen years. A part of this time she spent at Raritan, 
amid the scenes of her early life, and the people who first welcomed 
her when she came as a stranger in a strange land, and who always 
cherished a deep respect for her character, and her many excellent 
qualities ! Finally, however, she returned again to the city of New- 
Brunswick, and died in 1807, and her remains repose amid the honor- 
ed dust in the crowded cemetery of the Reformed Dutch Church. 
The monument dedicated to her memory contains the following in- 
scription : " This monument is erected to the memory of Dinah Har- 
denbergh, relict of the Rev. J. R. Hardenbergh, D.D., S.T.P. Of high 
attainments here in grace, now resting in glory. Died the 26th day of 
March, 1807, aged 81 years. 

" Tell how she climbed the everlasting hills, 
Surveying all the realms above ; 
Borne on a strong-winged faith, and on 
The fiery wheels of an immortal love. " 

The church of Raritan was vacant after the resignation of Dr. Har- 
denbergh, in 1781, for the space of two and a half years, until the Rev, 
Theodore Frelinghuysen Romeyn, the only child of Rev. Thomas 
Romeyn and Margaretta Frelinghuysen, was called and took charge 
of it in 1784. He was born on Long Island, in 1760, studied under 



196 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



Dr. Livingston, and was licensed by a convention of ministers and 
elders in 1783. He was a young man of talents, amiability, and great 
promise — a warm-hearted, earnest preacher, and the impression which 
lie made upon the people of his charge remained long after his death. 
We have a perfect recollection of more than one among the aged who 
professed to have imbibed their first serious impressions from his ser- 
mons; but his labors were brief, being included in a space of only 
ten months. He died of fever, in August, 1785, and his remains were 
deposited in the graveyard around the old church, on the banks of 
the Raritan. But, in 1826, they were disinterred, together with those 
of John Frelinghuysen, and deposited in the same tomb in which 
John S. Vredenburgh had been buried. The monument is in good 
preservation, and is known as "The Ministers' Tomb." The inscrip- 
tion is in the following words : " This monument, erected by the Ra- 
ritan congregation, to the memory of their three deceased pastors, 
whose remains are here deposited." It then recites the inscription 
given of John Frelioghuysen, and then proceeds, " The Rev. Theo- 
doras Frelinghuysen Romeyn departed this life in August, 1785, aged 
25 years. A short but faithful ministry ; mysterious providence, that 
one so useful, so filled with love to God and man, should be so early 
taken ! It is the Lord." With him, the last descendant of Theodo- 
ras J. Frelinghuysen, who devoted himself to the work of preaching 
the Gospel, was no more. The piety of their great ancestor seems to 
continue, but there is no one to take up the work since Romeyn laid 
it down. 

Almost immediately after the death of Rev. T. F. Romeyn, the 
churches of Raritan and Bedminster called the Rev. John Duryea to 
be their pastor. He was born on Long Island, in 1760, and received 
his academical education at Hackensack, under Dr. Peter Wilson. He 
studied theology under Dr. Livingston, and was licensed by the 
General Synod, at an extra session, on May 18th, 1784, in New-York, 
and accepted the call from Raritan, which had been given him, as the 
minutes state, October 14th, 1785. The first minute of consistory after 
his settlement is dated March 3d, 1786, and he continued to serve 
the church until 1799, when he resigned his charge. 

We have in our possession the original subscription which was cir- 
culated by consistory to raise a salary for him, and we copy it as a 
remnant of former times, certainly not unsuggestive : " We, the sub- 
scribers, members and others belon^in^ to the Ref. ' Dutch Church' of 
Raritan, in order to obtain the privilege of having the Gospel preach- 
ed among us, do promise to pay, or cause to be paid, unto the elders 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



197 



and deacons of the church, or their successors in office, the sum an- 
nexed to our respective names, at the expiration of every six months, 
as a salary for the Rev. Johannes Duryea, in case he shall accept the 
joint call of this congregation and the congregation of Bedminster, 
and by which call he shall be bound to perform two thirds of his ser- 
vice atRaritan, and one third at Bedminster — and one-half of his ser- 
vice in the Dutch, and the other half in the English language — the 
salary to commence on his accepting the call ; as witness our hands 
this 16th day of October, 1785. Signed, Richard Van Veghten, 7s. 
6d. ; Fred. Ver Muel, 5s. ; Corn's Ver Muel, 5s. ; Edes Yer Muel, 5s. ;, 
Andries Cadmus, 3s. 9d. ; John Sebring, 3s. 9d.; John Sebring, Jr., 5s. 
George Sebring, 3s. 9d. ; Michael Field, 3s. 9d. ; Abraham Sebring, 3s. 
9d.; Pebe Freman, 3s. ; Whitehead Leonard, 3s. 9d. ; Garret Tunison,. 
7s. 6d. ; Henry Blackwell, Is. lOd. ; Archibald Campbell, Is. ; Thomas 
Arrosmith, 3s. 9d.; George Romer, Is. 6d. ; Ab'm Tunison, 6s. ; Mary 
Auten,ls. lOd. ; Daniel Waldron, Is. lOd. ; Peter Harpending, 3s. 9d. ; 
Leonard Smock, 3s. 10d.; Matthew Harrison, 5s.; Tobias Van Orden, 
6s. ; Peter Yan Norden, Is. lOd. ; Michael Yan Norden, Is. lOd. ; John 
Hutchins, 3s." This list does not embrace the names of the principal 
families, or the wealthier portion of the congregation. Their sub- 
scriptions must have been much more liberal to secure the object and 
pay the stipend. 

Upon the settlement of Mr. Duryea, the congregation immediately 
ordered the repair of the parsonage, and then proceeded to provide 
a house in which they might worship. On the 15th of June, 1784, at a 
public meeting, it was resolved that we immediately proceed to build 
a house for the public worship of Almighty God. On the 15th of 
August following, it was reported that £195 Os. 6d., was subscribed in 
order to have the church built at Somerset Court-House; £177 7s. 6d, 
to have it at Yan Veghten' s Bridge ; and £4 18s. 6d., without designat- 
ing any place. It was, therefore, resolved that the church be built 
at Somerset Court-House ; and Isaac Davis, Andreas • Ten Eyck, 
Robert Bolmer, Jacobus Winterstein, Peter Harpending, and Samuel 
Beekman were appointed to collect the subscriptions taken, and pay 
them into the hands of Peter D. Vroom, the treasurer. Subsequently, 
Andreas Ten Eyck was appointed manager, and Rynier Veghte, 
Ab'm Yan Neste, Peter D. Vroom, John Hardenbergh, Robert Bol- 
mer, and Jacobus Winterstein, a committee to superintend and assist. 
The building erected was of brick, 40 feet by 60, with a small cupola 
and bell ; probably the most commodious and expensive church in the- 
County of Somerset at that time. It was no little praise for Mr. 
13 



198 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



Duryea, that he had been able to succeed in accomplishing such an 
object so soon after his settlement. 

His ministry at Raritan was- blessed in the beginning of it very 
much. The church increased from time to time by members on 
confession and by certificate. But, in 1799, Mr. Duryea resigned his 
charge. Dissatisfaction had grown up. He was never a student, 
and was accustomed to preach without writing his sermons; and did 
not satisfy the more intelligent portion of his people. But he was a 
good man — loved to preach, and did preach, even in his old age. He 
had his work in providence, and did it like a godly man. 

The final arrangements with Mr. Duryea were effected on the 2 2d 
of October, 1798. The consistory agreed to pay up all arrearages, 
and allow him his salary until the 4th day of January, with the use of 
the parsonage until May, 1799. He continued to serve the church of 
Bedminster for another year, and also preached occasionally in the 
vicinity of White House and Potters Town, in Hunterdon County. 
Finally, he received a call from Fairfield, in Essex County, where he 
resided for many years, until he died finally at the Notch, not far from 
Little Falls, Essex County, in 1 836. His remains rest in the cemetery 
attached to the Presbyterian Church at Caldwell, Essex County, by 
the side of his daughter, Mrs. Crane. He married late in life, and 
left a widow surviving him. He had been without a pastoral charge 
for many years, had given all his property to his children, and was 
himself often in straitened circumstances, but never in want. The 
Lord provided for him. 

From May, 1799, until November, the church of Raritan was with- 
out a pastor. On the 11th of that month, however, the congregation 
met and resolved to offer a call to the Rev. John S. Vredenburgh. 
On the 6th of February, 1800, it was executed and signed. This call 
Mr. Vredenburgh accepted, and he was ordained in the church of 
Raritan, on the last Sabbath in June ; and he continued in his charge 
until October 4th, 1821, dying suddenly in a fit of epilepsy. 

John Schureman Vredenburgh, son of Peter Vredenburgh and Mar- 
garet Schureman, was born in the city of New-Brunswick, on the 20th 
March, 1776. He obtained his early education in his native city, and 
graduated in Queens (now Rutgers) College in the class of 1794. He 
served one year as clerk in a store. During this year his views and 
feelings experienced an entire change, and he became, as he ever hope- 
fully believed, a true Christian. Almost immediately he resolved to 
devote himself to the work of preaching the Gospel, and soon com- 
menced the study of divinity under Dr. Livingston. On the comple- 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



190 



tion of his course, he received licensure from the classis of New-Bruns- 
wick, at their spring session in 1800. He soon attracted the atten- 
tion of the church at Raritan, and after preaching for them received 
their call. In this connection he was happy and useful, leaving an 
impression which survives in some freshness even until to-day. He was 
a truly excellent man, devoted to his work, though retired and unob- 
trusive. Every year witnessed to his faithfulness and success, by those 
who, under his persuasions, renounced the world and made confession 
of their faith. He succeeded in gathering into his church a large body 
of excellent and eminent men, such as seldom are found in any com- 
munity; and. the impression of his life and labors was extensive — in- 
deed, almost all-pervading in the whole community. 

We quote from a notice prepared by his daughter, Mrs. Woodward, 
for Dr. Sprague : "About six years before his death, he was induced 
to add to his other labors the superintendence of the Somerville 
Academy ; but this proved too great a tax upon his constitution, which 
was naturally not very strong; and very soon he was overtaken by 
that fearful disease — epilepsy. The fits occurred at intervals of from 
three to six weeks, till within a year of his death; and though the dis- 
ease produced no visible effect upon his mind, yet it had so far reduced 
his bodily strength and his ability to labor, that he felt constrained 
to resign his pastoral charge. So strongly were his congregation at- 
tached to him, however, and so highly did they prize his ministrations, 
that they declined to accept his resignation, preferring that he should 
remain with them, and perform only as much service as his enfeebled 
health would permit. During the last year of his life, the malady from 
which he had been suffering was suspended, and, he had hoped, en- 
tirely broken ; in consequence of which, he was enabled to prosecute 
his labors more vigorously than he had done in several preceding 
years. He had been engaged for three successive days, in company 
with one of his elders, in visiting his flock; and his heart had been 
greatly cheered, by finding not a few among them who were deeply 
concerned in respect to their immortal interests ; and this proved to 
be the commencement of a revival of great power, which, however, he 
was not permitted to witness, unless it were from heaven. Returning 
home much fatigued at the close of the third day, some apprehension 
was expressed that he might have overtasked his strength; but he 
replied with emphasis, that he was exceedingly anxious to finish 
his visitation on that day; from which it was inferred, by some, that 
he had a presentiment of his approaching departure. After taking- 
leave of a foreign missionary (Rev. Mr. Harris) and his wife, (Miss 



200 



HISTOEICAL NOTES. 



Laturette,) whom lie had married a short time "before, he concluded his 
family devotions, and then retired to rest. Just after he had fallen 
asleep, his epileptic fits returned upon him with unusual violence, 
and by one o'clock the next morning he had breathed his last. His 
death occurred on the 4th of October, 1821. The tidings took hi s 
congregation by surprise, and overwhelmed them with sorrow. His 
funeral sermon was preached to an immense congregation, by the 
Rev. John Ludlow," one of the professors in the Theological Semi- 
nary at New-Brunswick. 

The wife of Mr. Vredenburgh wasSarah Caldwell, daughter of the 
Rev. James Caldwell, of Elizabeth, of Revolutionary fame, and they 
were married on the 23d of April, 1800. Mrs. Vredenburgh survived 
her husband five years, and died in the city of New-Brunswick. She 
was a woman of fine culture, eminent endowments, and a most sincere 
and active Christian. They had eleven children, two sons and nine 
daughters. The sons died young. The daughters married: one Rev. 
Dr. Paynter, another Mr. Montgomery, another R. Van Pelt, another 
Rev. Edgar Freeman, and perished with her husband in the Sepoy 
war in India, another Mr. Woodward, another Mr. Van Pelt, and two 
died in their early womanhood in New-Brunswick. 

To the above tribute of a daughter's affection we add part of a 
letter from Dr. Ferris, of New-York, who in early life was an associate 
of Mr. Vredenburgh as pastor in the same classis : " Mr. Vredenburgh 
was rather below than above the medium stature, and firmly and 
compactly built. You could not call him a handsome man, and yet 
the expression of his countenance was both intellectual and benevo- 
lent ; it was a mirror that reflected at once the sound, vigorous mind, 
and the generous and confiding heart. And his character was just 
what you could infer from his external appearance. Plis mind was 
acute and discriminating, patient in its investigations, and careful in 
its conclusions. Though he could not be called an eminent scholar, 
his general acquirements were very respectable, and in theology he 
was deeply and thoroughly read, as was evident from the manner in 
which he conducted the examinations of students who were candi- 
dates for licensure. He possessed great kindliness of spirit; and while 
he manifested this in all his intercourse, it was especially apparent in 
his manner of treating young men. Such was the confidence which 
our students reposed, not only in his kindness but his wisdom, that it 
was not uncommon for them, when they were in difficulty, to go out 
to Somerville to solicit his counsel and aid ; and whatever it was in 
his power to do for them, they were sure would be done. He was re- 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



201 



markable for his thoughtful regard for the interests of others. I be- 
lieve he never lost an opportunity of doing good. 

"As & preacher, he held deservedly a high rank. His discourses were 
full of well-digested evangelical thought, expressed in a simple, per- 
spicuous, and correct style, but without any attempt of artificial orna- 
ment. His manner was animated and earnest, though it varied in 
this respect not a little with the changes in his physical condition. 
His preaching, without being of the most popular cast, was always ac- 
ceptable ; and was most highly appreciated by the most intellectual 
and pious portion of his hearers. It was rather of a revival cast, and 
was very faithful in its dealings with the consciences of sinners. 

" He was distinguished by a profound knowledge of the principles 
and workings of human nature; and yet, while he made good use of 
his knowledge in both his public and private relations, it was accom- 
panied with that perfect transparency and guilelessness of spirit that 
always kept it from being suspected of any purposes of a doubtful 
nature. This peculiar quality was constantly manifested in his inter- 
course with his consistory; he had the faculty, without seeming to 
exert any influence over them, to make them carry out his wishes to 
, the letter. This, too, was one of the qualities that made him a most 
valuable member of a church court ; his influence in classis and synod 
Was scarcely exceeded by that of any of his contemporaries. He was 
also one of the best pastors ; his devotion to the interests of his flock 
was untiring, and their attachment to him and confidence in him 
scarcely knew a limit. 

"Mr. Vredenburgh's ministry had, literally, closed before its most 
blessed results had begun to develop themselves. Shortly after his 
decease, a revival of religion took place among his people, which might 
be considered the joint product of his life and his death. I visited the 
congregation during this period, and conversed with many of the 
anxious inquirers, and was struck with the fact that, while they had 
received their impressions under his ministry, they had been deepen- 
ed and matured and developed by his death. Upward of three 
hundred (344) made a public profession of their faith during that re- 
vival, most of whom, no doubt, may be reckoned as gems in his crown 
of rejoicing. 

"My duty would not be complete did I not call attention to the 
fact that my excellent friend was blessed with a wife whose admi- 
rable qualities aided him unusually in his work. Suffering, as he did, 
from occasional attacks of illness, which for weeks would interrupt his 
work, it was her habit to mingle much with the sick, the poor, and the 



202 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



afflicted, and by counsel and prayer to make up for the want of his 
services. For this she was remarkably qualified by education and 
piety." She had a martyred mother ; and was a babe in her arms 
when she was shot by a British soldier, after the battle of Springfield, 
in a private house, remote from the scene of strife and without any 
justification whatever — in gratification of a deep feeling of malice 
with which, for interested reasons, the troops had been inspired. 

" The revival spoken of was, in truth, one of the most blessed and re- 
markable works of grace of which we have any record. It took place 
while the church was without a pastor, and in its continuance and 
progress depended for guidance very much upon the elders of the 
church. They conducted the prayer-meetings, supplied the church 
with the kind of preaching needed, and in Rev. Truman Osborn found 
the very man required. He had a talent for exhortation, for conver- 
sation with the anxious, for family visitation. He went from house to 
house, and attended meetings for prayer and instruction, almost every 
day. He seemed to understand just what was to be done, and did 
it, making himself a blessing indeed to many.' 5 

Among its striking results were, not only the large number of 
hopeful converts,- but their consistency afterward. Only three gave , 
occasion of discipline, after uniting with the church ; and a very 
large proportion lived and died in the exemplification of the better 
and higher type of Christian character. Of the number given above, it 
is also remarkable that 23 were colored persons, residing as servants 
in the different families of the congregation. Indeed, the number ot 
colored people belonging to the church in Somerville at this time, and 
for some years afterward, is too remarkable to be left in silence. On 
one occasion, as the writer of this remembers perfectly, there came 
68 such persons from the galleries and sat down at the Lord's table. 
It was a custom in many of the households to have their servants al- 
ways present at family worship, and to insist on their constant attend- 
ance on public worship on Sabbath day. The results noticed are, 
therefore, only such as ought to have been expected from their train- 
ing and example. 

Mr. Vredenburgh's remains are covered by what is known as u the 
Ministers' Tomb" in the Raritan Cemetery, on which is the following 
inscription: "Rev. John S. Vredenburgh departed this life October 
14th, 1821, aged 55 years, 6 months, and 24 days. He was prudent, 
amiable, and devoted to the service of God. He labored successfully 
in this gospel vineyard 21 years, sowing much seed and watering it 
with tears. His work being finished, the Lord of the harvest came 



HISTOKICAL NOTES. 



203 



and gathered in many souls which will appear as his crownsof rejoic- 
ing in the last great day. What I do thou knowest not now, but 
thou shalt know hereafter." 

From October, 1821, until January, 1826, more than fouryears, the 
church remained vacant. On the 25th of that month, the candidate, 
Richard D. Van Kleck, was conducted from New-Brunswick by two 
of the elders, and welcomed to Somerville, after having accepted the 
call. He continued to serve the church after his ordination, until the 
5th day of August, 1831, when, on account of ill-health, he resigned 
his charge. 

He was a native of Poughkeepsie; graduated at Union College with 
honor in the class of 1S22. In the autumn of the same year, having 
been a convert in the revival in the college in the winter of 1819 
and 1820, he entered the Theological Seminary at New-Brunswick, 
and was licensed by the classis of New-Brunswick in May, 1825. It 
was probably not wise in the congregation to call a young man, nor 
prudent in him to accept their call. The duties of so large a charge 
proved to be so exhausting, that his health soon began to suffer ; and, 
not too soon to save a little remaining strength, he laid down the 
onerous burden. He had, and left behind him, many warm friends ; 
but none of them could say that he had not done wisely. He went 
to Basking Ridge and taught the academy, left vacant by the removal 
of Dr. Brownlee to a professorship in Rutgers College. In 1834, he 
assumed the pastorship of the church at Canajoharie, in the valley of 
the Mohawk. The next year he served the churches of Berne and 
Beaverdam, in the county of Albany. In 1843, he became principal of 
Erasmus Hall Academy, in the village of Flatbush, Long Island. In 
1860, he went to Jersey City and taught a private classical school, and 
closed his life there May 27th, 1870. 

Mr. Van Kleck was an accurate classical scholar, a man of literary 
culture, a good preacher, a gentleman; and in social life, genial, con- 
fiding, and agreeable. He had made many friends, and died generally 
lamented. He married, soon after his settlement at Somerville, Sarah 
Johanna Mellison, of New-Brunswick. One of their daughters became 
the wife of Rev. Mr. MacNair. The widow resides in Jersey City. 
His remains were interred in Bayside Cemetery, at Communipaw, 
Bergen County, and on his tomb is inscribed: "To the memory of 
Rev. Richard D. Van Kleck, born October 30th, 1804, and died May 
27th, 1870. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. Yea, saith 
the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and their works do 
follow them." 



204: 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



In 1832, the present pastor was called, and began his labors no 
Sabbath, the 29th of October. He has been with his people in weak- 
ness and in strength ; and his labor has not been in vain in the 
Lord ; and to God's name and grace be ascribed the glory. A pastorate 
embracing forty years is as much an honor to the people as to the 
laborer himself. No church, except one that is well ordered and 
that loves the Gospel, can possibly be satisfied with any one man so 
many years. 

We append a list of the young men who have entered the ministry 
from the church of Raritan: John Leydt, 1745; Ferdinandus Fre- 
linghuysen, 1753 ; EliasVan Benschoten, 1769 ; Matthew Leydt, 1778 ; 
Isaac Blauvelt, ditto; Rynier Van Nest, 1786; Conradt Ten Eyck, 
1788 ; Jehiel Talmage, 1803 ; Isaac N. Wykoff, 1814 ; Brogun Huff, 
ditto; Jonathan Ford Morris, 1819; Ferdinand Vanderveer, 1820 ; 
Frederick F. Cornell, 1822 ; Garret J. Garretson, ditto; James R. 
Talmage, 1822 ; Alexander M. Mann, ditto; Abraham H. Dumont, 
1823 ; Hugh G. Hedges, 1839, died just before receiving licensure; 
John A. Todd, 1840 ; John Steele, 1842 ; George J. Van Neste, 1842 ; 
John Gaston, 1843 ; Nathaniel Conklin, 1843 ; and Augustus F. Todd, 
1843. These dates mark the time when they united with the church. 



NEW-BRUNSWICK: THE CHURCH OF THE RIVER AND 
LAWRENCE'S BROOK. 



The church of New-Brunswick is properly the successor of the old 
church of Three-Mile Run. For some time after it came into exist- 
ence it was called the " Church of the River and Lawrence's Brook." 

The time when the settlements began in New-Brunswick and its 
vicinity is fixed by the dates of the land titles. John Inians & Co. 
obtained a title to 10,000 acres of land, in June, 1781, at a place 
called by the Indians Ahanderhamock. November 10th, 1681, Inians 
secured a title for himself to 1280 acres of this tract, joining immedi- 
ately on the river. This purchase included the land on which the 
city of New-Brunswick was subsequently built. The first settlers 
are known to have come almost immediately after this date. They 
arrived (at least some of the first of them) as early as 1684. Several 
of them were Hollanders, or descendants of Hollanders ; as, for 



HISTOKICAL NOTES. 



205 



instance, Hendrick Vroom, at the landing, George Andersen, Jacob 
Probasco, Nicholas Van Duyn, and others. Some were of Huguenot 
origin, as indicated by such names as La Priere, De Peyster, Rap- 
palje, La Montes, Montfort, Fanger, Le Queer, La Montague. 

John Inians and wife obtained a license to ferry passengers over 
the river December 2d, 1697, paying an annual rent of five shillings 
sterling. This ferry, known long afterward as "Inians's Ferry," was 
in connection with one of the two earliest roads across the State, and 
at first this road was only a bridle-path. The other road ran from 
Amboy to Bordentown. Besides Inians, there were, soon after the 
above date, others who settled near him. 

The first house for the worship of God in the county of Somerset 
was built on " the old burying-ground," on the road to Six-Mile Run, 
about a mile and a half beyond the present limits of the city of New- 
Brunswick, and was known as the Church at Three-Mile Run."* 
The date of the building and the organization of the church are not 
known. All the records, if there ever were any, have perished. Its 
form and appearance are also unknown, except from tradition. Some 
remnants of its foundation were visible a few years since. It stood, 
however, more than sixty years, and is said to have been at last 
destroyed by the British troops during the war of the Revolution. 
It was never finished, and is spoken of in 1729 as being in such a 
state as to render it questionable whether it could be used for reli- 
gious worship. The prominent elders of this organization seem to 
have been Hendrick Vroom and Frederik Van Lieuwen. 

The earliest record referring to religious worship is in a subscrip- 
tion list, recently discovered by Ralf Voorhees, Esq., of Middlebush, 
on which are the following names, namely : Dollius Hageman, Teunis 
Quick, Hend. Emans, Thos. Cort, Jacobus Probasco, Neclas Wyckoff, 
Michael L. Moor, John Schedeman, Neclas Van Dyke, John Van 
Houten, William Bennet, Folkerd Van Nostrand, Jacobus Bennet, 
Hendrik Fanger, Abram Bennet, Cornelius Petersen, Philip Folker- 
sen, Dave L. Draver, George Andersen, Stobel Probasco, Isaac L 
Priere, Simon Van Winkelen, Cobus Benat, Garret Oatman, Lucas 
Covert, Brogun Covert, William Van Duyn, Dennis Van Duyn, John 
Folkersen, and Jost Benat. This subscription is dated 1703, and the 
amount is £10 16s. 6d. The object was to procure a minister from 
Holland to preach the Gospel to them. In addition to these names, 

* On the road from Inians's Ferry to Trenton, called the King's Highway, there 
were rivulets called the Mile Run, Three-Mile Run, Six-Mile Run, Ten-Mile Run, 
each so many miles from the river, and crossing the road. 



206 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



at an early day we find the others, as Enoch Frelandt, John Yan 
Nuise, Johannes StoothofF, Gose Yandenbergh, Roelef Seining, Hen- 
drik Bries, Martin Salem, Jacobus Ouke, Coert Van Yoorhees, Roelef 
Yoorhees, Isaac Yan Dyke, Laurence Williamse, Peter Kinne, Steven 
Philips, Siba Mart, Cornelius Solems, Hendrik Yroom, and others. 

In the mean time the settlement around " Inians's Ferry" had begun 
to increase into a town, and created a necessity for some place of 
worship for the families residing there. Accordingly, instead of 
finishing the old church at Three-Mile Run, they bent their energies to 
the erection of a new church in the town. The house was built, 
according to an old map of the city of New-Brunswick, previous to 
the year 1717. Dr. Steele thinks there is reason for believing it was 
as early as 1714. It stood on the corner of Burnet and Schureman 
streets. The building fronted the river, and occupied the corner lot. 
It was a wooden structure, 50 feet in front and 40 feet in depth. 
There were seven pews on each side of the pulpit, and eight along 
the middle aisle — in all fifty pews, capable of seating 300 persons. It 
was only completed after standing several years, and the people 
worshiped in it for fifty years or more. 

The project of transferring the worship from Three-Mile Pun to 
the town on the river, did not proceed, however, without opposition, 
The old congregation was reluctant to part with its members who 
lived east and northeast of the church ; and some of the people west 
of the church also resisted it. Several public meetings of the people 
were held to discuss the matter, but on the 12th of April, 1717, a 
decision was reached. It was recorded in the following words : " In 
order to prevent disturbance and contention, and thereby establish 
peace in the church," the following plan was harmoniously agreed to : 
" That the church built near Abraham Bennet's — the Three-Mile Run 
church — shall be considered as belonging to the church of Lawrence's 
Brook and on the river, and that the members of the congregation 
residing in the neighborhood of Six and Ten-Mile Run shall also 
build a church for themselves at either of these places, or at some 
point intervening, as they may agree." It was also determined that 
" the church in the town and at Three-Mile-Run shall each have a con- 
sistory, who shall cooperate with each other, and, notwithstanding 
there are two places of worship, the two congregations shall form 
one church ; and in matters of great importance the two consistories 
shall meet as one body, and transact such business as may come 
before them for the establishment of the Christian church." This 
was evidently an arrangement made with reference to the feelings of 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



207 



the older members, and ceased in time, all the regular services being 
transferred to the church in town. This arrangement was in existence 
during the first part of T. J. Frelinghuysen's ministry. 

Roelef Sebring was appointed elder for the new congregation, 
Hendrik Bries, and Roelef Lucas, (Yoorhees,) deacons ; and this num- 
ber was increased afterwards to three elders and three deacons, namely, 
Aart Aartsen, Isaac Van Dyke, Roelef Sebring, elders, and Johannes 
Folkersen, Hendrik Bries, and Roelef Lucas, (Yoorhees,) deacons. At 
the same time, in furtherance of the agreement referred to, Peter 
Kinne was appointed elder for the church at Six-Mile Run, and Elbert 
Stoothoff deacon, and that church became a distinct organization. 

Now, it certainly will appear not a little remarkable that all these 
things were transacted, and yet there are no documents whatever 
showing what religious services were held in these churches, or who 
conducted them. There were religious services, unquestionably, for 
children were baptized and the holy sacrament administered in all 
the three churches. The first register at New-Brunswick is dated 
August 14th, 1717, when three children were baptized, namely, Eliza- 
beth, daughter of Johannes Stoothoff, Cornelius, son of Martin Salem, 
and John, son of Jacob Ouke ; and in the three succeeding years 
there were twenty-nine children admitted to the ordinance of baptism. 
All this was before the settlement of Frelinghuysen. 

We can only speak from probabilities when we say that the settle- 
ments in Somerset County, being mostly formed from Long Island, 
must have been supplied in some way with occasional services by the 
ministers from the same place. That these ministers exercised an 
influence in these churches is shown in various ways. They were 
consulted, they advised, their peculiar sentiments had representa- 
tives, and Bernardus Freeman was the agent in having Frelinghuy- 
sen's call made out and sent to Holland. If their handwriting could 
be compared with the baptismal records, it is not improbable we 
should be able to ascertain who made them, and so arrive at dates 
when they supplied the churches ; and this may yet be done. 

The following is a list of the families composing the Church of the 
River and Lawrence's Brook in 1717. It is preserved as being the 
nucleus of the New-Brunswick church at an early day, and is extracted 
from the appendix of Dr. Steel's historical discourse, to which also 
we owe most of the foregoing particulars. It is as follows: 

" Adriaen Bennet and Angenietie his wife ; Aart Aartsen and Elisa- 
bet ditto ; Isaac Van Dyke and Barbera ditto ; Roelef Sebring and 
Christyn ditto ; Johannes Folkertsen and Angenietie ditto ; Hendrick 



208 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



Bries and Heime ditto; Koelef Van Yoorhees and Helena ditto; 
Laurens Williamse and Saara ditto; Roelef Nevius and Katalyna 
ditto ; John Van Voorhees and Neeltie ditto ; Minne V. Voorhees 
and Antie ; Samuel Montfort, Maria Frelanth, Jacobus Oukee and 
Henne his wife ; Johannes Stoothoff and Neetie ditto ; Abraham 
Bennet and Jannetie ditto ; Elizabeth Bries, Jakis Fontyn and 
Annike his wife ; Siarls (Charles) Fontyn and Helena ditto ; Annatie 
Folkersen, Jacobus Buys and Marietie his wife ; ISTiccklas Bason ; 
Hendrick Meech and Anna Madeline his wife ; Bernardus Knetor and 
Elizabeth his wife ; Johannes Metselaer, Guertie Smock, Elizabeth 
Smock, Christofel Van Arsdalen and Madaleentie his wife ; Jakob 
Korse and Adriaantie ditto ; Katrina Boyd, Cornelius Sudam and 
Maritie his wife ; Josis Anderse and Jacomendie ditto ; Jan Aten, 
Thomas Aten and Elsie his wife ; Thomas Davidts and Annatie ditto ; 
Helena Hogelandt, Willem Klaasen and Marijahis wife ; Maregeretie 
Reynierse, Thomas Bonsoman and Neeltie his wife; Marten Vander 
Hoeve, William Moor, Andries Wortman and Jannetie his wife; 
Johannes Koevert and Jannitie ditto ; and Barbara Janse." 

Of the above names thirty-three are males and heads of families, 
and there is a double interest in recording them. It not only indi- 
cates what a respectable number had already been connected with the 
church, and so is a proof of the piety and the religious character of 
our forefathers, but it indicates when the original ancestors of the 
present living families came and made the counties of Somerset and 
Middlesex their permanent home. Whatever praise may be justly 
accorded to Theodorus J. Frelinghuysen for his energy and perse- 
verance, it is certain there were Christians in these churches before 
his day. The foundations, at least, had already been laid. 

In ll 18, (it must have been at least as early as this date,) a call was 
sent to Holland by Rev. Bernardus Freeman, of Long Island, from 
the four united congregations of Three-Mile Run, Six-Mile Run, 
Raritan, and !STorth-Branch, which, after being approved by the 
Classis of Amsterdam, was expected to be put in the hands of such a 
man as they might think proper, and then he was to be ordained and 
sent over to his pastoral charge. This call was put in the hands of 
Rev. Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen, and accepted. He arrived 
in New-York the last days of December, 1^19, or the first days of 
January, 1720, and early in February came to the vicinity of Three- 
Mile Run, and resided in the family of Hendrik Reyniersz. He 
brought with him Jacobus Schureman, who was expected to act as 
" Voorleeser," or chorister and schoolmaster. He was at the same 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



209 



time friend and companion, and being, like Mr. Frelinghuysen, un- 
married, they boarded in the same house. We refer our readers to 
what is contained in these notes under the title Raritan, for a full 
account of Mr. Frelinghuysen's character and ministry, and there- 
fore proceed with other important matters. 

In 1*729, an effort was made by certain persons in the vicinity of 
Three-Mile Run and Six-Mile Run, apparently from dissatisfaction 
with the minister and the existing condition of things, to procure 
another preacher from Holland — whether to preach in the same 
churches or not, does not appear. The old church-building at Three- 
Mile Run is referred to as being in a state in which it was doubtful 
whether it was fit to hold service in, and in case it should not be eli- 
gible, Hendrik Vroom and Frederik Van Lieuw were appointed a 
committee to erect a new house, near the residence of John Pittenger. 
The subscription paper is still in existence. We give the names on 
it as representing "the old Confer entie families" in the vicinity at 
that time. They are : A. Booram, Simon Wyckoff, Dennis Van Duyn, 
Leonard Smock, Corn's Peterson, George Andersen, William Van 
Duyn, Jacobus Boise, Hendrik Smock, Christopher Probasco, William 
Kouenhoven, Jacobus Bennet, Peter Bodine, Gideon Marlat, William 
Bennet, Paul Le Boyton, Francis Harrison, Abram Bennet, Isaac Le 
Queer, Jacobus Bennet, Nicks Dailey, Adrian Hardenbrook, Luke 
Coevert, and Jacob Probasco. The committee appointed to procure 
the minister were Hendrik Vroom and Fredrik Van Lieuw. This 
effort was made probably in concert with other persons in the other 
congregations, but we have no documents in proof of this, or how it 
eventuated. The call probably was never sent to Holland. It was 
an irregular proceeding entirely. 

In 1*730, the church in the town received an important addition to 
its strength in an emigration from Albany. A number of families 
came, bringing their materials for building with them, and settled in 
what is yet Albany street, New-Brunswick. Among them were the 
following : Abraham Schuyler, Hendrik Van Deursen, Dirk Van 
Veghten, Abraham Schuyler, John Ten Broek, Nicholas Van Dyke, 
and Dirk Van Alen. They all remained, and became permanent 
residents, excepting Dirk Van Veghten, w r ho went soon and purchased 
land on the Raritan, below Somerville, where his descendants long 
resided. 

In 1*734, the same individuals probably who had attempted to make 
out a call for a new minister had a new consistory appointed among 
themselves, and ordained by Rev. Vincentius Antonides, of Long 



210 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



Island, consisting of Simon Wyckoff and Hendrik Vroom as elders, 
and Simon Yan Winklen and. Dennis Van Duyn as deacons. This 
movement again was made in concert with the malcontents in the 
other congregations. Indeed, a consistory for North-Branch, it would 
seem, was appointed and ordained at the same time and. place, con- 
sisting of Daniel Seebring and Peter Kinne, elders, and William 
Ross and Francis Waldron, deacons. At a later day, Rev. Johannes 
Arondius had himself installed in these congregations, contrary to 
all order and propriety, by Fryenmort. 

On the 20th November, 1*739, Whitefield preached to a very large 
concourse of people in the city of New -Brunswick, gathered from all 
the surrounding country. In his journal he notices the presence of 
T. J. Frelinghuysen, pastor of a congregation about four miles dis- 
tant, apparently ignorant of the nature of his combined charge, and 
of the existence of any other churches over which he exercised a pas- 
toral care ; and yet he had, we think, already preached at Basking- 
ridge and Bound Brook. Frelinghuysen was evidently at one with 
Whitefield in all his views on practical religion, and prepared 
earnestly to second his efforts to introduce a higher and more spiritual 
form of Christianity than that which prevailed in the churches at 
that time. Both were far in advance of their time in the earnestness 
and devotion of a true Christian spirit, and fully prepared to 
cooperate in extending it among all the churches. They met, and 
at once recognized each the other as having drank in from the same 
fountain. 

From this time onward Mr. Frelinghuysen seems to have had more 
quietness and acceptance than at first. The great work which he 
had done testified of him. The number received into the church by 
the records was about 60. This is more than one from each family. 
Tiie largest accession was in 1741, when there were 22 added to his 
church. This was after Whitefield's visit. Dr. Steele is persuaded 
the list is incomplete, and we can say the same thing of that of Ra- 
ritan. He had done a noble work, and was ready to lay down his 
armor whenever called. He continued to work as faithfully as ever 
for at least seven years after the last date given, and then he went 
to his rest, in the fifty-seventh year of his age, if the year of his birth 
(1691) is given correctly. We believe, in fact, that he was older than 
nineteen years when he came from Holland, and so this date must be 
incorrect by at least four or five years. 

There appears to have been too many things done by him before 
his immigration to admit of the supposition that he arrived here a 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



211 



mere boy yet in his teens. He had been rector of the academy at 
Embden, in East-Friesland, had published a catechism, and acquired a 
characterjfor piety and decision, before he came to America, hardly 
consistent for a boy. We would sooner believe he was twenty-nine 
than nineteen, therefore, when he appeared here on the stage of ac- 
tion ; and is it not singular at least that the date of his death is 
also undecided, and only approximately known? The evidence is 
this : 

Theodorus J. Frelinghuysen must have died previous to September 
27th, 1748. He is mentioned as being absent that year from the con- 
vention in New-York. The elder from his charge who was there (Hen- 
drik Fisher), urged the licensure of Johannes Leydt, in order that the 
vacant congregation at New-Brunswick might call him. The con- 
vention manifested a favorable disposition, as if they sympathized 
with the people, and after a full examination licensed Leydt. Now 
this could not have been the case unless the vacancy mentioned had 
been made by the death of the previous pastor. Verbych, who was 
also licensed, it would seem, had been one of his students. This is 
the nearest approximation to the time of his death now possible. 
Some document yet unknown may, however, determine it hereafter. 

Again, the same date (namely, September 27th, 1748,) we find in 
another connection the following record : " At this time Henry Fisher, 
, ruling elders of the congregations of New-Brunswick and Six- 
Mile Run, came before us with a call from both these congregations, 
upon John Leydt, a candidate for the ministry, to be their minister, 
in order that the Rev. Assembly might inspect the same, and, finding 
it in due form, might approve it ; and that the said John Leydt might 
be admitted to the final examination by the Coetus, which is specially 
authorized to do this by the Classis of Amsterdam, and, if found 
qualified, be approved by the Coetus as the lawfully called minister 
of New-Brunswick and Six-Mile Run, and be declared as such by 
written testimonials to all whom it may concern." This again is 
proof that Frelinghuysen must have been dead at least some time 
before this. 

It is added : " The Assembly, having examined the aforesaid call 
and found it in due form, have taken the said John Leydt, presenting 
himself for examination, into trial of his gifts upon John 5 : 25, which 
• had been previously assigned to him, and have been fully satisfied. 
And into the inquiry into his knowledge of the principal parts of 
holy theology, he has shown himself so skilled, and so ready in 
removing the subterfuges and difficulties of them that are without, 



212 HISTOEICAL NOTES. 

that the Rev. Assembly have found him mighty to convince by sound 
doctrine and to overthrow the gainsayers. Wherefore the Rev. 
Assembly hold and recognize the godly and learned John Leydt, 
after he has subscribed both the Low Dutch Confession, the Christian 
Catechism, and the Canons of the National Synod of Dort, and also 
the rules of the Coetus as subordinate to the Classis of Amsterdam, 
by this their written declaration, to be lawfully called pastor and 
teacher of the Low Dutch Reformed congregations of New-Brunswick 
and Six-Mile Run, and thus fully authorized to preach the Gospel, 
to administer the sacraments, and wisely and prudently to govern, 
according to the word of God, the congregations of which the Holy 
Ghost has made him, along with the elders thereof, an overseer. 
While we earnestly exhort him, when he shall be publicly confirmed 
and installed in his congregations, habitually to watch over the same 
in doctrine and life, with all love, and peace, and harmony, we will 
not doubt that he will apply himself to become, in every respect, 
approved of God as ' a workman who needs not be ashamed,' doing 
the work of an evangelist, and of whatever service his congregations 
may require. 

" Wherefore we none the less entreat his congregations, who have 
him for their pastor and teacher, to hold him in honor as such, for 
his work's sake ; and in every thing to help him, so that he may 
accomplish his important ministry in the Gospel, unhindered and 
w T ith joy. 

" The almighty God, who has called him to this excellent work in 
his church, enrich him more and more with all the necessary gifts of 
his holy Spirit, and bless his abundant labors to the magnifying of 
his holy name, and the conversion and salvation of many souls. And 
when the chief Shepherd shall appear, may he give him the eternal 
crown of unfading greatness. 

"Done in our Ecclesiastical Assembly, subordinate to the Rev. 
Classis of Amsterdam, this day, at New- York, Sept. 28th, 1748. In 
the name and by order of all, 

" Geeaed Haagiioet, Pres. 

" G. Dubois, Clerk Extraordinary." 

Thus, Frelinghuysen having rested from his labors, his successor 
had assumed the responsibilities of the position and labors. 

The Rev. John Leydt, thus formally called and settled in the con- 
gregations of New-Brunswick and Six-Mile Run, was, in his day, a 
prominent actor in the affairs of all the churches. He was by birth a 
Hollander, and educated at one of her universities. He came to New- 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



213 



Netherland with an elder brother, and settled at first in the vicinity of 
Fishkill, Dutchess County, N. Y. On coming to New-Brunswick, the 
consistory prepared a parsonage for him and fifty acres of land near 
Three-Mile Run. The property is now in possession of Mr. Isaac 
Pamyea. He resided here during all the time of his ministry, extend- 
ing to thirty-five years. The house in which he lived is yet stand- 
ing. He left two sons, both of whom graduated at Queen's Col- 
lege, and were licensed and ordained. Matthew, the elder, was 
pastor of the Dutch churches in Bucks County, Pa. He died early, 
and his remains were interred at a place called " The Buck," within 
the bounds of his pastoral charge. The monument erected to his 
memory is inscribed, "In memory of Rev. Matthew Leydt, who died 
Nov. 24th, 1783, aged twenty-nine years." 

Peter, the younger, was settled at Ramapough, New-Jersey, and 
soon also departed this life. He was buried in the family cemetery 
of Andrew Hopper, on the margin of the Ramapo River. His monu- 
ment is inscribed, "In memory of Rev. Peter Leydt, who was born 
Nov. 6th, 1763, and departed this life 12th June, 1796." Both were 
promising young ministers, but cut off in their early youth. 

Their father, Johannes Leydt, preceded his son Matthew a few 
months, dying suddenly, June 2d, 1783. His remains were deposited 
in the old burying-ground of Three-Mile Run, near what had been 
his life's residence. The grave is immediately in front of the gate, 
and his wife, Treyntije Sleight, lies beside him. She died Dec. 2d, 
1763, and beside her two daughters, Anna and Elizabeth, also sleep 
in death. Dr. Steele has a full account of John Leydt, the best and 
most complete ever prepared. We can only refer our readers to it, 
and say briefly he was one of the most active and energetic ministers 
of his time. He published several pamphlets on the questions of the 
day, but they seem to be lost. His ministry in Somerset was greatly 
blessed by numerous accessions to his churches, and the general edifi- 
cation of the body of Christ. 

Mr. Leydt's successor in the pastorate of New-Brunswick (Six- 
Mile Run having united with Millstone in calling the Rev. John M. 
Yan Harlingen) was Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh, D.D., who was, at 
the same time, president of Queen's College. His call bears date 
October, 1785, but he did not commence his pastorate in the church 
until April or May. 1786. He died of pulmonary disease on the 20th 
October, 1790. (For an account of him see notes on Raritan, page 
14 



214 HISTORICAL NOTES. 

1850.) He was succeeded, August 24th, 1*793, by Ira Condict, D.D., 
who died June 1st, 1811. 

"Ira Condict, D.D.,* was one of the worthies of our church, not a 
native, but one of the truest sons by adoption. He was born at Orange, 
N. J., February 21st, 1764, the son of Daniel and Ruth (Harrison) 
Condict He graduated at Princeton College, 1*784 ; taught school 
for several years at Freehold, in Monmouth County, N. J., and at the 
same time studied theology with Dr. John Woodbul; was licensed 
by the Presbytery of New-Brunswick, April, 1786, and the next year 
was ordained as pastor of the churches of Newton, Hard wick, and 
Shappenack, N. J. He accepted, the call from New-Brunswick in 
the autumn of 1793. In 1808 he was elected vice-president of Queen's 
College, under Dr. Livingston as president, but virtually had the 
control of the institution entirely given to him until the time of his 
death, which, unfortunately for his church and the college, occurred 
on June 1st, 1811. He preached the last sermon in the old church, 
saw it demolished, but in two weeks, on the Sabbath day, he was 
buried. Thus the smitten congregation were left without a church and 
without a pastor, in a very brief space of time. The sorrow occasioned 
by his death was overwhelming." 

Dr. Cannon says of him : " He had a strong and athletic frame, 
was considerabl} 7 above the medium height, had dark hair and 
eyes, with an expression of countenance which indicated what he 
really possessed — a masculine, vigorous intellect. The portrait of Dr, 
Bates, the celebrated nonconformist English minister, as it is given 
in his works, is so much like Dr. Condict, that you would suppose he 
might have been Bates's son. 

" In his general intercourse with society, lie was more than com- 
monly reserved, . . but with his intimate friends he would unbend 
in cheerful conversation, though even with them he never offended 
the most strict ministerial decorum. 

Is As a preacher, Dr. Condict never had any remarkable popularity, in 
the sense of being run after by the multitude ; but he had a testimony 
in the conscience of his hearers to the fidelity and fearlessness with 
which he delivered his message. His preaching embraced all the 
great truths of the Gospel, but it had, perhaps, more to do with the 
law and its penalty than with those themes which maybe considered 
as peculiarly evangelical. He was rather an awakening than a com- 



We quote from Sprague's Annals. 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



215 



forting preacher. He dwelt much on the importance of a deep reli- 
gious experience ; but perhaps was not accustomed to go into a rigid 
analysis of those operations of the mind in which such experience 
consists. His sermons were remarkable for terseness of expression 
and condensation of thought. He was not distinguished either for 
taste or imagination ; but the turn of his mind was rather mathe- 
matical than metaphysical, giving to his preaching an argumentative 
cast, though it did not render it obscure. His manner was stiff and 
awkward, and he used but little gesture ; but there was an honesty and 
an earnestness fitted alike to arrest the attention and open a way to 
the conscience. He left the impression on your mind that he was 
aiming at a single object — the glory of his Master and the salvation 
of men. 

" As a pastor he was eminently laborious and faithful. Though not 
remarkably free in his intercourse with his people, he was, in the best 
sense, their friend ; and their spiritual interests, especially, were iden- 
tified with the great object for which he lived. In public bodies he- 
was discreet, energetic, and influential. His general influence in the 
community was extensive and salutary."* 

Dr. Cannon then notices how he heard him on his death-bed give 
his dying testimony; it was simply, "I do feel that I love God above 
all." This he repeated the second time after a short interval. His 
disease was typhus fever. His son had died a few days before him. 
His remains are deposited in the church-yard in New-Brunswick. 
His monument is inscribed, "The tomb of Rev. Ira Condict, who 
was born February 21st, 1*764 ; ordained at Newton, Sussex, 1787; 
installed in the Dutch Church, New-Brunswick, 1794. Pious and 
learned, prudent and zealous; successful in his ministry and greatly 
beloved. He finished his course and entered into the joy of his Lord,. 
June 1st, 1811." 

Dr. Condict was succeeded in the pastorate of the church of New- 
Brunswick by Rev. John Schureman, D.D, His call is dated May 
25th, 1812. The people were in the midst of a strenuous effort to 
erect for themselves an edifice worthy of their number, wealth, and 
position ; and their new pastor saw it completed (except the steeple) 
and dedicated on the 27th of September of the same year. Dr. Liv- 
ingston preached the sermon from Ezek. 43 : 12 to a large and inte- 
rested audience. 

* This notice is abridged. 



216 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



Dr. Schureman was born October 19th, 1778, near New-Brunswick ; 
and was the son of Hon. James Schureman, and the grandson of 
Jacobus Schureman, the schoolmaster who accompanied Rev. T. J. 
Frelinghuysen from Holland. He graduated from Queen's College 
September 30th, 1795, before he was seventeen years of age; made a 
profession of religion under Dr. Condict, April, 1797, studied under 
Dr. Livingston, and was licensed in 1800, He first settled at Bed- 
snftinster in 1801, and he continued to serve that church faithfully for 
six years. Then he was called to the church at Millstone, and served 
it for two and a half years; then he preached in the collegiate 
•churches of New-York for two years. His health bad failed in New- 
York, and it did not recuperate. He resigned his pastorate at New- 
Brunswick after serving a little more than a year, having been elect- 
ed in October, 1815, professor of ecclesiastical history and pastoral 
theology in the seminary. He died of typhus fever, May 15th, 1818. 

Dr. Livingston says of him : " He was mild and pleasant ; discern- 
ing and firm; steadfast, but not obstinate ; zealous, but not assuming. 
The habitual weakness of his constitution prevented him from close 
and intense studies ; yet he was a good belles-lettres scholar. His style 
was correct and pure, and he made such progress in the several 
branches of his professorship that his lectures were highly accept- 
able and very useful. The suavity of his manners and the propriety 
of his conduct endeared him to the students, and recommended him 
.to the respect and confidence of all who knew him." 

His last hours have been thus described : "During the progress of 
the disease which terminated in his death, he spoke but seldom. The 
•disease proceeded with rapid and irresistible violence, baffling the 
skill of medicine and the assiduities of aifection ; and, for the most 
part of the time, was attended with a lethargy which rendered it 
•difficult and irksome for him to converse. He, however, retained the 
use of his reason, and on the last afternoon, when the stupor had 
abated, and just before he obtained release, he attempted to converse 
with his mother, but his speech failed, and what he said could not be 
•understood. His afflicted wife was too much overcome to witness his 
•departure; but his parents, who were in the room, he took affection- 
ately by the hand as soon as he found himself to be in the agonies of 
•dissolution. Then waving his hand and pointing to the light in the 
upper part of the window, he laughed aloud; thus expressing his joy 
that his spirit was about being disengaged from his earthly frame, 
.and to wing its flight to the regions of light and bliss, just like a bird 



HISTOKICAL NOTES. 



217 



that, tired of its cage, claps its wings when about to be set at liberty. 
With one eye on death and one fixed on heaven, he seemed to say in 
the moment of expiring, Now that God has given me the wings of a 
dove, I will fly away and be at rest." 

He was vice-president of Queen's College at the time of his death, 
and had had the degree of D.D. conferred on him by Columbia Col- 
lege in 1816. Dr. Van Vranken has written an admirable sketch of 
his life and character for Sprague's Annals, to which we refer. His 
remains were interred in the cemetery connected with the chnrch in 
New-Brunswick, and on his tomb is engraved: "Beneath this stone 
are deposited the remains of Rev. John Schureman, D.D., Professor 
of Pastoral Theology, Ecclesiastical History, and Church Government 
in the Theological Seminary of the Reformed Dutch Church at New- 
Brunswick, who, while engaged in a course of active and highly use- 
ful labors, enjoying the confidence of the churches and the affection 
of his brethren, departed this life May 15th, 1818, in the 40th year of 
his age." 

The same year, October 2d, 1818, the church called Rev. Jesse 
Fonda. He was called from Nassau, Rensselaer County, New-York. 
His pastorate was brief. He resigned on the 3d July, 1819, and ac- 
cepted a call from Montgomery, Orange County, where he continued 
until May 22d, 1827, when he died and entered into his rest. 

Jesse Fonda, says Dr. Forsyth, was born at Watervliet, Albany 
County, N. Y., April 27th, 1786 ; he graduated at Union College, 1806. 
He was the subject of religious impressions from his youth, and very 
early formed the desire to preach the Gospel. He studied theology 
in a desultory way with neighboring clergymen, and received his 
licensure from the Congregationalists, but in 1808 united with the 
Chassis of Albany, and received a call from the church of Nassau and 
Schodack, where he continued to labor with great acceptance until 
he went to New-Brunswick. He bound himself by resolution to a 
course of regular, systematic study, and rose to eminence. His book 
on Sacraments evinces maturity of mind and a fullness of know- 
ledge on the subject of which it treats. His physical man was very 
fine, and his social qualities companionable and interesting. His mi- 
nistry, at Montgomery particularly, was eminently successful. Three 
hundred were added to the church on profession of faith in ten 
years, while the spiritual life of the church was greatly quickened, and 
the whole moral aspect of that region changed. His remains were 
followed to the grave by an immense crowd of weeping parishioners 



218 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



and friends, at the head of which walked nine ministers of the Gos- 
pel. The funeral sermon was preached by his friend and neighbor, 
Rev. James B. Ten Eyck, of Berea, assisted by Dr. Fisk, of Goshen, 
Rev. Samuel Van Veghten and Rev. Mr. Arbuckle, of Blooming 
Grove, and Dr. Wallace, of Little Britain. 

The attention of the congregation of New-Brunswick, upon Mr. 
Fonda's resignation, was at once directed to John Ludlow, then a 
young man just from the seminary; and they presented him their 
call, dated September 17th, 1819. At first he declined it, fearing the 
onerous duties of such a charge ; but on receiving from consistory 
liberty to preach only one sermon on the Sabbath and to be exempt 
from pastoral duty for one year, he accepted; but his ardor led him 
to break through his own stipulations almost at once. He continued 
his services only two years, and then accepted the Professorship of 
Biblical literature and church history in the seminary. After spend- 
ing six years in the duties of his professorship, he accepted a call 
from the First Church in Albany, in 1823, where he continued until 
1834, when he was chosen Provost of the University of Pennsylvania. 
In 1852, he returned to New-Brunswick, to occupy his original posi- 
tion in the seminary, and died in 1859. 

John Ludlow was born at Acquackanonk, Bergen Count} 7 , N. J., in 
1793. He graduated at Union College in the class of 1814, and was 
at once chosen tutor. He studied theology during his tutorship 
with Rev. Dr. Andrew Yates ; but graduated from the seminary in 
New-Brunswick in 1817, and was immediately licensed by theClassis 
of New-Brunswick. 

Dr. Bethune says of him : " His most striking characteristic was 
strength. His person was strong. His countenance was strong. The 
lines of decision and thought were deeply traced on his face ; his eye 
clear and almost stern, and his whole expression so settled and firm, 
even in early years, that there seemed but little change effected by 
time, care, and years." 

His voice was strong. In his ordinary tones he filled the largest 
audience-room of any church; but when he became warm in the dis- 
cussion of his subject, it rose to power, and when it burst forth under 
the force of excitement, it w^as like thunder crashing through the 
clouds. And this was only the breaking forth of the power of his 
intellect and his affections ; for he had a great heart beating in the 
bosom of that robust frame. 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



219 



He was strong* more than cultivated; a forcible thinker more than 
a polished scholar or rhetorician. He forced his conclusions upon 
you, rather than by his logic or argument, winning you to embrace 
them. And yet he had logic and rhetoric in abundance, and he 
often made the very best use of them in his discourses. The pre- 
dominating element of his whole character, however, was power. 
When you thought of Dr. Ludlow you thought of a strong, vigorous, 
forcible man. 

His pastorate in Albany was successful, and he commanded a 
wide influence. No one thought him below any of his eminent and 
gifted predecessors. He preached the Gospel in its distinctive fea- 
tures, and saw the fruits of his labors ; and yet he was by nature best 
fitted for a teacher. In the professor's chair, surrounded by young 
men, he was most at home. He seemed to feel a certain kind of in- 
terest and pride in giving them instruction, moulding their minds and 
fitting them for usefulness. 

Dr. Ludlow never published any thing beyond an occasional dis- 
course or pamphlet. He seemed to be averse to it. Had he written 
and published, he would have left in his writings evidence of his 
strength, to prove the justness of the estimate formed of him. 

When he returned to the seminary the second time he came as 
successor to Dr. Cannon. . It is enough to say that he filled the place 
left vacant to the perfect satisfaction of all. But his life was nearly 
spent. In five years the chair was again vacant. He died in his resi- 
dence in the west wing of the college. The inscription on his tombstone 
reads: "This monument is erected by the General Synod of the 
Dutch Reformed Church to the memory of the Rev. John Ludlow, 
D.D., LL.D., Professor of Ecclesiastical History, Church Government, 
and Pastoral Theology in the Seminary of New-Brunswick ; and 
Professor of Metaphysics in Rutgers College. Died September 
8th, 1857, in the 64th year of his age." As pastor of the churches of 
Ne\v-B runs wick and Albany, as Provost of the University of Penn- 
sylvania, and as professor in the seminary, he discharged his various 
offices with singular fidelity, ability, and success. Of solid learning, 
distinguished force of character, and ardent piety, he exerted a com- 
manding influence in the councils of the church, and by arduous per- 
sonal services eminently contributed to establish and strengthen the 
foundations of these institutions. 

As he had lived, he died — strong in faith, giving glory to God. 

In the pastorate of the church of New-Brunswick, Dr. Ludlow's 



220 HISTOEICAL NOTES. 

successor was the candidate Isaac Ferris. t He was born in the city of 
New-York, graduated at Columbia College in 1816, and at the semi- 
nary in 1820, and was immediately licensed by the Classis of New- 
Brunswick. The first summer he spent as a missionary along the 
Mohawk, preaching at Manheim, Herkimer, Danube, and Osquak. 
His call to New-Brunswick is dated January 21st, 1821. He was 
ordained and installed pastor of the church on the third Thursday 
in April. He continued to serve the church with acceptance until 
October, 1824, when he was dismissed to take charge of the Second 
Church in Albany, made vacant by the election of its pastor, Rev. 
John De Witt, D.D., to Dr. Ludlow's place in the seminary. He 
labored in Albany from 1824 to 1836, and in the mean time made 
the tour of Europe for his health. In 1836, he became pastor of the 
Market Street Church in the city of New-York. In 1853, he was 
chosen chancellor of the University of New-York, retired in 1862, 
and resides at present at Roselle, New-Jersey. 

The successor of Dr. Ferris was the Rev. James B. Hardenbergh. 
He was called April 2d, 1825. He was born near Rochester, Ulster 
County, New-York; graduated at Union College in the class of 1821 ; 
was a convert in the revival in the college in the winter of 1819-20. 
Studied in the Theological Seminary at New-Brunswick, and gradu- 
ated and secured his license in May, 1824. Almost immediately he 
received and accepted a call from the church of Helclerberg, in the 
county of Albany, but continued there only one year, having received 
a call to New-Brunswick as Dr. Ferris's successor. He remained in 
New-Brunswick from 1825 until 1829, when he was transferred to 
Orchard street, in the city of New-York. From thence, in 1829, he 
removed to Rhinebeck, then to Philadelphia in 1836, and again to 
Franklin street, New-York, in 1840. From 1856 he was without 
a charge, and died in the city of New-York. 

In the church at New-Brunswick, two months after Dr. Harden- 
bergh's resignation, the Rev. Jacob J. Jane way, D.D., was called. 
The call is dated February 23d, 1830. We quote from Dr. Steele's 
historical discourse: "Dr. Janeway, previous to his settlement over 
this congregation, had occupied some of the most prominent positions 
in the Presbyterian Church, and at the date of his call had just re- 
signed the professorship of theology in the Western Theological 
Seminary, in Allegheny City, Pa. He was not installed until May 
26th, although he assumed the charge of the pulpit early in the 
spring. The church now felt that they had secured a pastor of mid- 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



221 



die age, who could long remain among them, and give his ripe experi- 
ence and sound instruction to the upbuilding and establishment of the 
congregation. He came to them with a well-furnished mind, a large 
stock of experience, thoroughly orthodox in his sentiments, and at 
once, though he had spent his whole ministerial life in the Presby- 
terian Church, identified himself with all the interests of our denomi- 
nation. Indeed, he was only returning to his home. His parents 
Avere members of the Collegiate Church in New-York, into whose 
communion he was* also received on confession of his faith, after 
graduating at Columbia College. His theological studies were pur- 
sued under Dr. Livingston, for whom he cherished an unbounded 
reverence, first as his pastor, then as his instructor, and through life 
as his cherished friend." 

The expectation of the church that the ministry of Dr. Jane way 
Avas to be of long continuance was to be disappointed. The extent 
of the congregation, the amount of labor incident to a great country 
and city charge, induced him to resign. " The dissolution of his 
pastoral connection was effected February 24th, 1831, after he had 
served only one year." It was a great disappointment. He went to 
New- York for a short space, but returned to New-Brunswick, became 
vice-president of Rutgers College, taught logic and metaphysics for a 
time ; but returned to the Presbyterian Church again, and died on 
Sabbath, June 27th, 1858, just before the setting of the sun. His 
funeral sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. Hodge, of Princeton. A 
memoir of Dr. Janeway, by his son, Avas published in 1861, to Avhich 
we can now only refer our readers who are desirous of accurate in- 
formation. 

In 1857, the health of Dr. Janeway began to be seriously affected. 
By the advice of his physician he was induced to give himself rest 
from the studies which he had up to this time been pursuing. He 
rallied for a time, but not effectively. A week before the final attack 
he laid down his pen and said, "My work is done. I had a warning 
from God Avhen I first arose, but was anxious to complete what is 
written. God has permitted me to do it, and I have nothing more to 
do." On Sabbath, January 31st, he went to his bed, but lingered 
there five weary months, and then died. On his tomb is found this 
brief inscription : " Rev. Jacob J. Janeway, D.D., born November 20th, 
1774 ; died June 27th, 1858." 

The successor of Dr. Janeway Avas Rev. Samuel B. How, called 
May 18th, 1832. He came from the Presbyterian Church, where he 



222 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



had been a laborious and efficient pastor for several years. He was 
born in the city of Burlington, New-Jersey; graduated from the Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania in 1811, and from the Princeton Theological 
Seminary in 1813. His first settlement was at Salisbury, in Penn- 
sylvania, from 1813 to 1S15. Then he became the pastor of the First 
Presbyterian church of Trenton until 1821, when he came as pastor 
to the Presbyterian church in New-Brunswick; remaining for two 
years. In 1823, he accepted a call from an independent church in 
Savannah, Georgia, and remained in the South until 182 7. He labored 
then as a missionary in North street, New-York, endeavoring to raise 
up a new congregation under the Board of Domestic Missions of the 
Reformed Dutch Church ; then he became president of Dickinson 
College ; but returned finally to New-Brunswick on a call from the 
Dutch church, and labored there for twenty-one years. His health 
failed, and he resigned in 1861, and died in 1868. Dr. How was a 
scholar and a polished gentleman, old school in his theology; a 
doctrinal, but energetic preacher. He naturally venerated the past 
and loved to read the writings of the reformers. He loved them so 
much that he had no patience — perhaps this was a fault — with pre- 
tensions to new things. When the discussion on slavery opened, lie 
took the ground that in itself it was not sinful. He had been in the 
South, and sympathized with the Christian people there. He knew 
well how conscientious and beautiful the character of many of them 
was; and it revolted all his feelings of justice and propriety to hear 
the bitter denunciations heaped upon them by men who were not 
worthy to unloose the latchet of their shoes; and like a noble man, 
as he was, he defended them earnestly-and like a Christian gentle- 
man. 

Dr. How was a ripe and cultivated scholar. His reading was ex- 
tensive, and his classical and belles-lettres attainments eminent. He 
was a powerful preacher, and gave to his hearers the very marrow 
and fatness of the Gospel. 

During his ministry in New-Brunswick the church was blessed 
with a most gracious and glorious revival, the result of which was 
the addition of 137 individuals to the communion of his church ; and 
more than 500 in all the churches in the city. Dr. How wrote and 
published an account of it, in which he says for several years pre- 
vious it (the church) had been peaceful and prosperous, and had 
steadily improved in its spiritual interests. The events which he 
thinks tended to prepare the way for the deep religious impressions 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



223 



which resulted in that gracious work were the cholera in 1832, and 
the tornado which swept through the city in June, 1835, laying 
whole streets in ruins and destroying several lives. "In May, 1839, 
the whole congregation seemed to be affected with a religious awe ; 
religious meetings began to be thronged, conversions became nu- 
merous, and the whole city was moved to think and to pray; and 
yet there was no confusion, no disorder, no wild, misguided zeal — all 
was serious, solemn, calm, devout, and affecting." It was indeed a 
blessed work ; a pure revival of religion in Christian hearts, accom- 
panied by the effectual conversion of many souls to God. 

Dr. How resigned his call in the end solely on account of failing 
health and physical infirmities, June 14th, 1861. Rest seemed at 
first to revive him ; he preached occasionally, but finally he rested 
from his labors, falling asleep in Jesus on the 1st day of March, 1868. 

The following inscription is engraved on his tomb : 

Rev. Samuel B. How, D.D. 
Born at Burlington, New-Jersey, October 14th, in the year of our Lord 1795, 
died at New-Brunswick, New-Jersey, March 1st, A.D. 1868. 
Beloved and lamented. 
Erected "by the congregation in memory of their former beloved pastor. 

The Rev. R. H. Steele became his successor, and still continues to 
serve the church with comfort to himself and profit to the people. 



SIX-MILE RUN. 
In early days the first inhabitants in the district of Six-Mile Run 
worshiped in the church at Three-Mile Run, and formed a constituent 
portion of that congregation. On the 12th day of April, 1717, at a 
congregational meeting convened in that church, it was resolved, 
'* in order to prevent disturbance and contention, and thereby to es- 
tablish peace in the church," first, that the church edifice should 
belong to the church of Lawrence Brook, (New-Brunswick;) and 
secondly, and the most important to the interests of the people at Six- 
Mile Run, "that Pieter Kinne be appointed elder and Elbert Stoot- 
hoff deacon for that part of the congregation which was near Six- 
Mile Run." This is properly the origin and organization of the Six- 
Mile Run church. The action grew out of the natural course of 
things. A town had grown up around "the Ferry" and along the 
river, and its interests and convenience required public religious 
services there. It had come to pass that the building at Three-Mile 



224 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



Run was mislocated, arid both the eastern and western portions of 
the congregation were no longer properly accommodated by the ser- 
vices held in that house. It was prompted, also, by other tilings. 
Arrangements were in contemplation to obtain a minister to preach 
the Gospel to all the settlements in Somerset County, and as early as 
the next year they were perfected, and a call sent to Holland to 
obtain such a person. In this action Six-Mile Run was associated 
with Raritan, North-Branch, and Three-Mile Run, or, as it was 
already called, " the Church of the River and Lawrence Brook." This 
call brought T. J. Frelinghuysen from Holland. 

Another part of the resolution referred to contemplated the erec- 
tion of a church edifice for the accommodation of the people set off 
from Three-Mile Run, and arrangements were begun immediately 
to effect this work. The house thus built was located on the road 
running along the south side of the Six-Mile Run brook — a mile east 
of the present church. It was a plain building, fronting the road, 
and longer in front than in depth, with a place for the pulpit oppo- 
site the front door, and resembled a barn more than it did any thing 
now called a church. It was never finished, having simply weather- 
boarding, a roof, and a floor, and instead of seats, the people used 
the chairs from their wagons, or else stood during service. The 
exact date of its erection can not now be ascertained, but it was pro- 
bably soon after the meeting in 1717 noticed above. It was, after 
the Three-Mile Run church, the first in that vicinity, and continued 
to be the place of public worship until 1766. The present register 
of baptisms at Six-Mile Run commences 1787. The minutes of con- 
sistory, with the first register, were burnt in the house of David 
Nevius, Esq., clerk of consistory, in 1796. The loss is irreparable, 
and cuts us off from a knowledge of many things in the history of 
this church previous to this date which might have been important 
and interesting. 

The following names embrace the heads of families in Six-Mile 
Run during the time of T. J. Frelinghuysen : Koert Van Voorhees, 
Isaac Haenrooncot, J. Perrine, Cornells Cornel, R. Merril, Peter 
Schenck, Gerret Veghten, Isaac Symonse, Hendrik Van Dyke, Jako- 
bus Van Voorhees, Tobias Xevius, Aric Van Arsdalen, Jakobus 
Strycker, Cornells Van Arsdalen, Abram Van Arsdalen, Jeremias 
Douty, Theoclorus Montfort, Fredrik Van Lieuw, Jan Pijet, Jesse 
Van Arsdalen, Jochem Gulick, Elbert StothofF, Cornells Tunise, 
Johannes Stryker, Fredrik Ferdon, Jacobus WyckofF, Abraham 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



225 



Vandoren, Benjamin Tailor, Christofel Van Arsdalen, Martynus 
Voorhees, Jan Van Voorhees, Nichlos Veghten, Daniel Van Vleet, 
Samuel Polen, Albert Schenk, Lucns Van Voorhees, Marten Polen, 
Johannis Vonk, John Van Arsdalen, Christ. Davidts, Nys Hagaman, 
Jan Fyne, Cor. Stothoff, E. Suydam, Johannes Bennet, Cornells 
Wyckoff, Alexander Beert, Dirck Williamse, Jan Sutphin, Hendrik 
Schenk. 

From 1720 to 1748 the history of the church at Six-Mile Run is 
largely involved in the other churches forming Mr. Frelinghuysen's 
associate charge. It shared in the prosperity produced by his evan- 
gelical preaching, and also in the sentiments of opposition created by 
it. All that will probably ever be known of the occasion, the ani- 
mus, and the unfortunate influence of these difficulties, has already 
been related in other connections, or will be as we pass in review the 
history of the other churches. We know, at least, of nothing re- 
quiring special attention in this connection except that, on the 19th 
of May, 1734, Rev. Vincentius Antonides, of Long Island, lent him- 
self to the encouragement of Mr. Frelinghuysen's opponents in a 
most irregular and improper way, by ordaining a consistory for 
Three-Mile Run, some of whom were residents in Six-Mile Run con- 
gregation. The elders of this consistory were Simon Wyckoff and 
Hendrick Vroom, and the deacons, Simon Van Wincklen and Den- 
nis Van Dnyn. This movement was connected with the design of 
calling another minister from Holland to serve the dissenting party, 
which we have already noticed in our account of the church of New- 
Brunswick. They were very much scandalized by its being said that 
Rev. W. Budde had " lifted up his hands to heaven," when informed 
of the course of those who opposed the Coetus, especially the effort 
to settle Fryenmoet at the North-Branch. 

When Frelinghuysen died, in 1748, Six-Mile Run united with New- 
Brunswick (as the church then had begun to be called) in making a 
call on the candidate Johannes Leydt, and again her history is in- 
volved in this associated charge for thirty-five years, bringing us to 
the date of his death. 

In John Frelinghuysen's time the following additional names of 
families occur: Joseph Folkerse, Benjamin Emans, Johannes Wyt- 
neght, Nicholas Boerum, Nicklas Willemse, Lamert Dorlanclt, Jo- 
hannes Pouelse, Gerret Veghten, Nicolas Jonsen, Peter Van Zandt, 
James Pruyn, Abraham Lott, Johannes Vonk, Bergun Broka, Mar- 
tyies Hooglandt, Cornelius Van Houten, Peter Van Nest, Leffert 



226 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



Wuldron, Johannes Van Pelt, Jan Sperling, Rem Gerretse, Jonitan 
Stout, Jan Vanderveer, Abraham Riemer, Jacobus Leek, Isaac Sne- 
diker, Hendrik Cortelyou, Peter Berrien, Peter Pomyea, Jan Harri- 
son, William Van Tilburgh, Petrus Nevius, Jost Duryea, Jurias Van 
Cleef, Michal Van Buren, Alexander Beert, Abram Simonson, Jan 
Terhunen, Corns. De Hart, William Dannelsen, Abram Van Doren, 
Jacobus Vandervoort, Syme Kinne, Jokem Gulick, Corns. Van Han- 
gelen, Joseph Brouwer, Isaac Snediker, Jonathan Pi'ovost, Peter 
Juricks, Ferdinandus Schureman, Johannes Groenendyke, Johannes 
Coevert.* 

During the pastorate of Leydt, in 1766, Six-Mile Run built a new 
church, and located it in the village, a few yards south of the Somer- 
set court-house. This court-house was erected previous to the year 
1724, and the courts of Somerset County were held in it until 1752 
or later, and then Millstone became the county seat. The exact 
time of the transfer is not ascertained, but it was made previous to 
1766. 

The church in its form and size was like that in the city of New- 
Brunswick in Dr. Condict's time, a picture of which is given in 
Steele's Memorial, page 94. It was inclosed with shingles and 
painted red, except the front, which was white. It was ceiled with 
boards and never pninted inside. Its roof had four sides, terminating 
in a cupola, on which a cock was elevated as the vane. It stood 
until the year 1817, when it was removed to make room for the 
present church edifice. A beautiful and interesting scene was en- 
acted over the raising. The frame was prepared in a grove 150 
yards distant. The plate on the south-east side was carried by the 
young ladies of the congregation — all dressed in white, with their 
parasols over their heads — from the grove, and laid in its place 
beside the foundation, to be put in its place by the people who were 
raising the other parts of the frame. It was an appropriate expres- 
sion of the deep interest they felt in the erection of the house in 
which God was to be worshiped and Christianity preached. 

In 1753, June 7th — principally through the influence of Rev. Mr. 
Leydt — a charter was procured from Jonathan Belcher, Governor of 
New-Jersey, for the five united churches, New-Brunswick, Raritan, 
Six-Mile Run, Millstone, and North-Branch. It does not seem, how- 

* We owe these lists to Ralph Voorhees, Esq., of Middlebush, whose extensive 
researches have brought olden things to light in various ways. 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



227 



ever, ever to have been really put in force. We give a copy in the 
appendix. 

Leydt's death, in 1783, brings us to the close of the Revolution. It 
resulted in producing a change in both the congregations of which 
he had been pastor. 

New-Brunswick now ventured on the attempt to maintain a pastor 
for herself alone, and left Six-Mile Run to seek a connection with 
Millstone, which had taken the name of New-Millstone, but finally 
Hillsboro, and had been occasionally supplied by Leydt and Harden - 
bergh from New-Brunswick. Then they had the whole services of 
Mr. Foering, and for a short time those of Solomon Froeligh. This 
union, again, grew out of natural causes. The congregations were 
contiguous. The war had wasted the strength and resources of 
both, and neither felt able to maintain a pastor alone. The agree- 
ment included an equal proportion of the money and of the services, 
only Six-Mile Run stipulated that two thirds of the services should 
be in the Dutch language and one third in the English, while Mill- 
stone alternated, having an equal one half of each. The call was 
given to John M. Van Harlingen, a native of Millstone, a son of Mr. 
Ernestus Van Harlingen, the brother of the pastor of the same 
name, who had been settled at Harlingen or Sourland. He was born 
in 1761, graduated at Queen's College in 1783, studied theology 
under Dr. Livingston, and was licensed in 1786. He continued in 
this united charge, residing in the village of Millstone until 1795, 
The writer has the recollection of once seeing and hearing Mr. Van 
Harlingen preach. He Avas a thin, spare man, rather below the 
ordinary stature, spoke in a fine but feeble voice, kept his eyes 
fixedly on the Bible before him, but had no manuscript to read, and 
never made a single gesture during the whole time of the delivery of 
his sermon. A relative of his has written of him to the following 
effect : "From early childhood it is said he was exceedingly fond of 
books, and spent most of his life in their exclusive society. After 
the relinquishment of his first united charges he never settled again, 
although he labored abundantly in assisting his brethren and supply- 
ing vacant pulpits by classical appointments. He was very quiet 
and reserved in his disposition, and was seldom known to laugh or 
even to smile. His conversation was instructive, and his preaching 
solid and evangelical, but not popular. After his retirement from 
the pastorate he translated Van der Kemp's sermons on the Heidel- 
bergh Catechism, which were published in 1810 in two volumes. 



228 



HISTOEICAL NOTES. 



For several years previous to the establishment of the theological 
professorate at New-Brunswick he had been accustomed to receive 
young men at his residence, and instruct them in Hebrew and eccle- 
siastical history, with a view to their licensure. In 1812, the General 
Synod appointed him professor of those branches in the theological 
seminary. He accepted the chair of Hebrew, and agreed- to instruct 
temporarily in church history; but his career of usefulness was cut 
short by death June 16th, 1813, in the fifty-second year of his age, 
and he was buried in the yard adjoining the Millstone church. His 
loss was deeply felt by the church and her institutions of learning." 
— P. D. V. C. 

He is said to have been an industrious student, and extensively 
read in the science of theology. His sermons were well arranged 
and full of important thought, but his mode of delivering them pre- 
vented them from making any deep impression at the time. He 
spoke almost as if he was unconscious of the presence of his audi- 
ence, or, rather, his diffidence was so extreme as to prevent him 
from looking them in their faces. The result was that, although 
Christians heard him patiently, and sometimes even with pleasure, 
those who did not share in their feelings of reverence for religion and 
love for the truth did not feel themselves to have been much pro- 
fited. Yet his ministry was blessed evidently, and that blessing is 
attested by the number who united with the church, on confession of 
their faith, in both his congregations. 

The Rev. Dr. I. N. Wyckoff says: "I remember Mr. Van Harlin- 
gen as a tall, thin man, somewhat stooping in his attitude, with 
what would be termed a downcast look, seldom turning his eyes to 
the right or left as lie deliberately proceeded on his way. From the 
fact that he was a bachelor, and withal a close student, and had no 
one but himself to be responsible for his wardrobe, his clothes Avere 
neither of the newest fashion nor very indicative of acquaintance 
with a brush. He resided, during my knowledge of him, in the 
paternal mansion, in the village of Millstone. There, in a retired 
room, he had his study furnished with the utmost j>lainness, but con- 
taining what seemed to me a most wonderful and useless amount of 
books. A great many of them were heavy tomes bound in vellum, 
and in the Dutch language. In that study it was my privilege to 
attend on his kind instructions for some months, and there I had my 
introduction to the mysteries of the dead languages. He was an 
eminently modest and diffident person. This was strikingly mani- 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



229 



fested in the fact that, in examining his class in their lessons, he 
scarcely ever looked up in our faces. Deeply learned himself, he 
was not the best teacher, because he was too diffident to venture a 
criticism, and too kind to rebuke our inattention. In later years, 
when he was professor of Hebrew in the theological seminary of the 
Dutch church, he was highly approved as a proficient in that lan- 
guage. 

"As a preacher, I can now see him standing in the pulpit, in rather 
a stooping posture, with his hands on the two corners of the bible- 
board, and his eyes on his notes, or on the Bible, and without a 
variation of attitude or the semblance of a gesture, pronouncing his" 
clear and well digested sermon, almost in a monotone, from the be- 
ginning to the end. He could and did preach both in the Dutch and ; 
English languages. The lovers of systematic doctrine and Christian 
experience highly esteemed his discourses. His translation of Van- 
der Kemp's sermons, which is one of the formulas of the Dutch church r 
was made at the suggestion of many of his brethren in the ministry,., 
and, I believe, by a formal request of the synod ; and is a monument 
of industry and scholarship. 

"Mr. Van Harlingen was very remarkable for his meditative habits 
and entire abstraction from ordinary surrounding objects and occur- 
rences. Many anecdotes illustrative of this characteristic are told in 
the neighborhood, of which I may venture to mention a single one. 
The good pastor always rode on horseback. At the church he had a 
particular post, to which he uniformly fastened his horse. On one oc- 
casion, some mischievous boys, as was supposed, had substituted an- 
other man's horse in the place of his, and, amidst the merriment of the 
urchins, the worthy pastor, apparently full of the sacred message he- 
had just delivered to the congregation, without remarking the change, 
unfastened his neighbor's dashing steed, and would have had a most 
expeditious, and perhaps dangerous ride, had not the mistake been cor- 
rected in time to prevent all disastrous consequences; but he carried 
a piece of chalk in his pocket afterward, and uniformly marked the 
saddle under the flap, to prevent similar mistakes occurring to him in 
future. 

" The great excellence of the character of this good man was his 
deep, fervent, experimental piety. He was manifestly one of those 
Christians who live above the world. With a sufficient patrimony to 
make all attention to pecuniary gain unnecessaiy, he employed his- 
whole time in sacred studies, spiritual conversation and private devo- 
15 



230 



HISTOEICAL NOTES. 



tions. The savor of his godliness is like ointment poured forth , and 
still exhales its fragrance in the region where he lived and died." * 

We have felt a just pride in being able to give so much and such 
■earnest testimony to the excellence of one who in his life attracted 
but little of the world's regard. He was a great man in obscurity, 
and a good man without fame ; and he deserves more to be kept in 
remembrance than many, even of his own profession, who have filled 
& large space in contemporary records. He rests from his labors and 
>is not, for God took him. 

From 1795 until 1797 the church of Six-Mile Run remained with- 
out a pastor ; but in that year it again united with Millstone in call- 
ing the candidate James Spencer Cannon. He continued to serve the 
united congregations until 1807, when Millstone withdrew from the 
•connection, and Six-Mile Run enjoyed the whole of his services until 
he was, in 1826, chosen professor of ecclesiastical history in the 
Theological Seminary at New-Brunswick, in which responsible situa- 
tion he died. 

Dr. Cannon was born in the Island of Curacoa, West-Indies, 
January 28th, 1776. He was of Irish extraction, and his father, Wil- 
liam Cannon, was a sea-captain. His mother's name was Ruth Spencer, 
born in Rhode Island, of Scotch parents. She died in Baltimore, and 
is interred in the Friends' burying-ground. Upon the death of their 
mother, the father placed his three sons, of whom James was the 
youngest, in the academy of Dr. Peter Wilson, at Hackensack, "N. J. 
Captain Cannon afterward sailed for Charleston, South-Carolina, in a 
vessel commanded by Philip Freneau, the poet. In a violent storm 
he was lost at sea by being thrown overboard by the jib-boom. He 
left some property for his children, but from some unexplained cause 
it never came into their possession. James Brevort, Esq., of Hacken- 
sack, acted the father's part for James, and provided entirely for the 
•expenses of his education. 

* The following inscription is found on his tomb : 
Sacred to the memory of 
John M. Van Harlingen, 
Professor of the Hebrew Language and of Ecclesiastical History 
in the Theological School of the Dutch Reformed Church. 
He departed this life on June 16th, 1813, 
in the 52d year of his age. 
.An humble Christian and Minister of the Gospel, without affectation ; 
He was an Israelite in whom there was no guile. 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



231 



When Dr. Wilson was chosen professor in Columbia College, 
James Cannon was transferred to the care of Rev. Alexander Miller ; 
and by his diligence and studious habits laid the foundation of his 
future attainments. 

In the spring of 1794, he commenced the study of theology under 
Dr. .Solomon Froeligh. After two years, in 1796, he transferred his 
attendance to Dr. Livingston, in order to be able to obtain a profes- 
sorial certificate, entitling him to examination before classis. In July 
of the same year, after a thorough examination, he was licensed to 
preach the Gospel. The same year he became the pastor of the unit- 
ed congregations of Six-Mile Run and Millstone. He continued to 
serve these churches for ten years, and then Six-Mile Run alone for 
nineteen years more. In 1826, he was elected professor in the Theo- 
logical Seminary, and died July 25th, 1852. Dr. Cannon has been 
characterized by two of his friends, Dr. JohnProudfit in Sprague's 
Annals, and Dr. Gr. Ludlow, in Corvvin's Manual, to which we refer 
our readers for fuller accounts. 

" Few men ever succeeded in rendering themselves more generally 
acceptable to their associates, or more interesting and instructive to 
their juniors, than Dr. Cannon. His social qualities were of the most 
admirable kind. Dr. John Ludlow once said of him, 'I would give 
all I am worth to possess Dr. Cannon's parlor talents.' In his inter- 
course with strangers, no less than with his familiar acquaintances, 
there was a dignity, urbanity, and suavity which won all classes of 
minds alike. No man ever went from his presence, even though the 
interview had lasted only for a few moments, without feeling that he 
had been in the society of no ordinary man. 

" In his private intercourse with friends there was a happy medium 
observed between the austere and the mirthful, the grave and the 
cheerful, which gave it an almost irresistible charm. That playful 
humor which always accompanies a kind heart rendered him a most 
entertaining companion, while his extensive reading and ripe expe- 
rience made him an instructive one. We have known few men who 
had a larger fund of anecdotes suitable to every occasion at command, 
or who could relate them with better effect ; but then, like the man 
himself, they were always instructive, elevated, and pure — never for 
a moment compromising his character as a Christian gentleman, or 
his high calling as a minister of Christ ; while, at the same time, the 
happy play of wit and the rich vein of humor often carried his audi- 
tors to the highest pitch of relish and enjoyment. In fact, his con- 



232 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



versational powers were of the highest order. He could mingle learn 
ing in his common talk without pedantry, and impart to you* the 
most important instruction when he seemed only to be amusing you. 
In all companies he became, insensibly, a leader in conversation, and 
the place seemed to be involuntarily conceded to him, in acknow- 
ledgment of his superior abilities. 

" The memory of Dr. Cannon was one remarkable trait in his mental 
endowment. His mind, perhaps, was neither so original nor so wide 
in its range of thought as to distinguish him much from others, but 
his memory was immense — a perfect storehouse, even of names and 
dates. He seemed never to have forgotten any thing, and from the 
wide field over which his reading had extended he was able on all 
occasions to adduce facts and circumstances pertinent to the subject 
in hand. His most intimate friends were often surprised when a com- 
paratively new theme was introduced into conversation, to perceive, 
as he went on, how perfectly he was acquainted with every impor- 
tant particular belonging to it, and with what accuracy he could recall 
the fruits of his study, after years must have intervened since his at- 
tention had been directed to it. In fact, the whole range of his ex- 
tensive reading was always at his command. 

" The learning of Dr. Cannon was the result of studious habits main- 
tained through his whole life. Originally his advantages, except in a 
good knowledge of the classics, had been few. He had taken no col- 
legiate course, and he was licensed to preach when he was only 
twenty years of age. While serving the church at Six-Mile Run he 
lived in retirement upon his own farm, and having no taste for agri- 
cultural employment, he was left to himself, to find the wherewithal 
to fill up his life in books and in study. He must have been a greedy 
reader, and not in light works either, but in the more solid and in- 
structive." We remember once being greatly surprised at the inti- 
mate knowledge which he manifested of the substance of a great work, 
then just published, and in further conversation ascertained that it 
had been obtained from an ancient Latin work, published in Holland 
two centuries ago, not from the work we were speaking of at all. 

In the best sense it may be said that Dr. Cannon was a learned 
man, and that his stores were all his own. He was called by his 
students "a walking library," and the books which he carried in his 
mind were the best on all the subjects of learning then published. 
If there ever was a self-made man he was one, and if there ever was 
a perfect triumph of self-reliance,, he was that man. His industry must 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



233 



have been prodigious ; for lie acquired all his learning not only un- 
aided, but while pressed with the duties of a large congregation, none 
of which he intermitted at any time for the sake of study. Indeed, 
it may be safely affirmed that no one was ever more painstaking and 
multitudinous in his efforts and care in visiting the sick, instructing 
the ignorant, and comforting the afflicted than he was ; and, more- 
over, he wrote all his sermons, and committed them to memory. 
When we think of it all, we are astonished ; his labors must have 
been prodigious. And yet he was the least like a pining student. 

When he went into the seminary, he at once assumed the position 
of one of the most learned among its professors; and he ever retained 
it. His published lectures explain how it was so. They do his in- 
tellect, his mind, and his heart equal honor ; and are, in fact, the full, 
est and completest treatise on the subject extant. 

In mental conformation, Dr. Cannon resembled Leighton more than 
Edwards or Chalmers, and Bates more than Owen or Howe. He was 
more extensively read than Dr. Livingston, and a better theologian 
than Dr. John Ludlow. His mind was not so grand as it was clear, 
logical, and deliberate. His views of truth were more distinguished 
by their exactness and solidity than by any far-reaching or deep- 
searching power ; and yet when he had discussed any theme, there 
was little left to be said by any one who came after him. Though he 
might not have absolutely exhausted it, he had evidently seen all its 
prominent points and traversed to the extent of its legitimate boun- 
daries. He was consequently not so much an awaking as an instruc- 
tive preacher ; and yet we remember how, on the installation of Pre- 
sident Frelinghuysen, his eloquence and power rapt completely away 
the whole vast congregation. 

Christians of mature piety, possessing an experimental knowledge 
of the way of life, always loved to listen to his discourses, and ac- 
knowledged themselves to have been edified in doing so. A sober 
mind could find real pleasure in his chaste and perspicuous mode of 
presenting truth, though one that was giddy and frivolous might have 
preferred the noisy, impetuous declaimer. His pulpit efforts were uni- 
formly sound, sensible, and evangelical, manifesting care, culture, and 
piety. He could be eloquent, and sometimes rose to a high degree 
of pathos and power. Ordinarily his strain of preaching resembled 
more the music of a running brook than the loud roar of the rushing 
cataract. He was more like " the disciple whom Jesus loved " than 
"the sons of thunder" who would fain have called down fire from 
heaven to consume gainsayers. His sermons were uniformly models 



234 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



of good taste ; in their style chaste and perspicuous ; in their sentiment 
solid and judicious, and in their method instructive and logical. In 
the excellent qualities of the best preachers, Dr. Cannon had but few 
equals. His voice in early and mature life was feeble, but fine and 
musical; afterward it grew in compass, and allowed him to reach 
even the remote hearers in a large house. 

In the seminary he was honored, beloved, and admired. Few. in 
fact, had a stronger hold on the young men who sat at his feet; and 
their affectionate regard for his memory seems to be increasing with 
their years. 

After a protracted work in the church and in the seminary, he was 
at last called to his rest, We heard him when he was just " on the 
borders of Immanuel's land" speak of his faith and trust in Jesus as 
a great Saviour, and how he hoped to see him in heaven. Amid the 
silence of the Lord's day, when the incense from the prayers of all 
the saints was ascending before the throne, his spirit severed the silver 
cord and mounted up to God. It was a fit time for such a man to die. 
He had always felt his soul gladdened by the communion of saints, and 
now it went away to enjoy it in glory. He sleeps beside the other 
" worthies" in the crowded cemetery of the old church in the city of 
New -Brunswick, awaiting a resurrection to eternal life. He died on 
the 25th July, 1852, and his monument is inscribed: 

" This monument is erected by the General Synod of the Reformed 
Dutch Church to the memory of Rev. James Spencer Cannon, D.D., 
Professor of Ecclesiastical History, Church Government, and Pastoral 
Theology in the Seminary of New-Brunswick, and Professor of Meta- 
physics in Rutgers College. 

'•Born in the Island of Curacoa, January 29th, 1776. Died in New- 
Brunswick, July 25th, 1852. Commanding in person, dignified in ad- 
dress, richly endowed with various knowledge, distinguished for piety, 
and devoted to the duties of his holy calling, he officiated as Pastor of 
the Church of Six-Mile Run for thirty years with signal fidelity and 
success, and for twenty-six years he conducted the studies of his de- 
partment in the Seminary in a manner to secure the highest commen- 
dation of the Synod." 

It will be long before another so complete in all the essential ele- 
ments of greatness and goodness is found to occupy the place his 
death has left vacant. One of the old school of gentlemen, scholars, 
and preachers, he appears to our recollection as the beau-ideal of a 
great and good man, and we love to recall many happy hours spent 
in the closest and most confidential intimacy. It was grateful then 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



235 



to be permitted to sit at his feet, and it is grateful now to remember 
that he permitted us to do so. It has been a labor of love to twine 
this chaplet of flowers and lay it on his grave. 

Dr. Cannon wore his clothes always in the same fashion ; and it was 
no slight advantage to his large and dignified person that he did so. 
His garb became him ; and some persons thought he had a little pride 
in it. It certainly did not lessen the dignity of his impressive person 
and courteous deportment. He certainly had chosen it well. 

He married the daughter of his benefactor, Elias Brevoort, of 
Hackensack, on the 7th October, 1796. Her name was Catherine. 
They had twelve children ; four of whom received a collegiate edu- 
cation. Only three of his children survive. 

Dr. Cannon published, besides the Lectures on Pastoral Theology, 
an oration on the 4th of July, a sacramental sermon, and, for the use 
of the students, some notes on chronology. It is known that he had 
a large amount of manuscript, but it is not known what was done 
with it. 

His memory was greatly embalmed in the hearts of his people at 
Six-Mile Run ; and his example quoted in everything that was good. 
It is yet alive. The aged think there was no one equal to him. His 
ministry was blessed in many conversions, but there was no marked 
season of revival during its continuance, except that which had its 
centre in Somerville in 1820 and 1821, and extended over all the 
churches of the county — at least to some extent. He built up a strong 
church, and the fruits of his labors are yet known among his people. 
In all time to come, he w T ill be reckoned as one of the great men who 
labored in Somerset County, and had a large share in making the 
churches what they are — perhaps the best ordered and best instruct- 
ed religious societies in the State. Dr. Alexander, of Princeton, was 
accustomed to refer to them as such. 

When Dr. Cannon resigned his charge at Six-Mile Run, the church 
remained without a pastor until 1827, when the consistory united 
in a call to the Rev. James Romeyn, of Nassau, New-York. Mr. 
Romeyn was, at this time, comparatively a young man, having been in 
the ministry only about seven years, but his reputation as a most effec- 
tive preacher had preceded him ; nor were the high expectations which 
had been formed disappointed. For six years he made the force of his 
character and the power of his pulpit services tell effectively upon the 
interests of the church. He was one of the most splendid and earnest 
preachers of his day. His utterance resembled the rush of a torrent, 
and his style and illustrations flashed upon his hearers like a pyrotech- 



236 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



iiic display. He forced you to listen, and when he had gained your at- 
tention, he enchained it. One says of him, "He was of an exceedingly 
sensitive temperament ; and this peculiarity measurably unfitted him 
for contact with a rough world, but gave extreme ardor to the pur- 
suit of studies he loved, and rendered him, with his strong mental en- 
dowments, perhaps the most eloquent of our preachers. He was a 
flame of fire in the pulpit. His utterance was rapid in the extreme, 
yet in his best days distinct; Iiis posture a little stooped, his eye fol- 
lowing his notes closely, his action not ungraceful, and his whole man- 
ner vivacious, ardent, impressive. His style was sententious, brilliant, 
and full of scripture ; of which a leading word or two gave you the pas- 
sage and its use in the argument. Iiis quotations and allusions of 
all kinds, and his abundant, and to any but himself redundant, com- 
parisons and figures, so characterized his sermons as to render them 
altogether peculiar." Often a closing sentence gave the finishing touch 
and the conclusive argument to the whole preceding paragraph. For 
instance, in showing how science fails in religion, and how little it uses 
of what science glories in, he says, " To attempt thus to back revelation, 
is like holding a lamp beside the sun, or gilding gold, or propping up 
the Alps." In speaking of forms without power he says, " We may 
be stable as a pillar, and conservative as salt, and prove notwithstand- 
ing like Lot's wife — a living body transformed into a dead mass, and 
be nothing but a monument of folly and disobedience after all." 

" When he had well gotten into his subject, he often seemed to be on 
fire, and then he flashed out upon his hearers light and heat like a 
burning comet ; and all so rapid, so impetuous, so surprising that 
his whole audience became electrified. With not only his face glow- 
ing, but his whole system quivering, you wondered where it would 
end, and not unfrequently feared lest it should consume him. It cost 
him a great deal to preach ; no wonder his nervous system became 
shattered and failed him apparently long before his work was done! 
He burnt out like a flaming taper." 

In person he is described as " tall, with a large face and a broad, 
high and retreating forehead ; an aquiline nose, almost too large even 
for such a face ; grayish blue eyes ; light brown hair, parted on his 
forehead from the right side, short, thick, and smooth. In manner 
he was gentle, affable, and kind. Social in his disposition, a true 
friend, and a pure-minded, upright, honest man. He could not be call- 
ed an elegant man, but he impressed those who saw him for the first 
time; and no one ever spoke with him, even for a few moments, with- 
out remembering something which he had uttered, and feeling that 



HISTOEICAL NOTES. 



237 



there was a power in the man which made him at once worthy of love 
and fear." 

We copy from a notice of him in Corwm's Manual the following in- 
teresting reminiscences : " In the seminary it was said of him, he was 
never tardy in time or loose in preparation. In his intercourse with 
his fellow-students he was blithe and joyous, with an unfailing smile 
of good-fellowship. He was never angry, though his nature was im- 
pulsive. His early efforts at sermonizing showed the budding of that 
rich and exuberant imagination which so eminently distinguished 
his more mature efforts. He could pursue a principal thought and its 
successive inferences, corollaries and suggestions, until it made almost 
a complete circle of Christian doctrine. When he had made one of 
these successful efforts, which showed him to be a head and shoulders 
taller than any of his seniors, he did not seem to be aware of the fact. 

" As a preacher, .he never occupied as conspicuous a position as his 
abilities merited, partly on account of shattered health, and partly be- 
cause he shunned publicity. His rapid and impetuous delivery im- 
paired to some extent the effect of his sermons, but his mind worked 
in them like a steam-engine. 

" His discourses exhibited great intellectual power, being always 
well prepared, full of the marrow of the Gospel, glowing imagery, and 
brilliant thought ; but his wonderful rapidity of utterance olten, at 
first, seemed to confound his hearers, and demanded from him closer 
attention than he was able to give. He always came to the sanc- 
tuary with 'beaten oil,' feeling deeply the responsibility of winning 
souls to Christ. His conscientiousness in this direction even prevent- 
ed him from entering upon extensive fields of usefulness when they 
were offered him. In preaching, he gathered his illustrations from 
every department of nature, science, and history. His reference book 
was a storehouse of the choicest gems, gathered from a wide field of 
reading and research, hence he was never at a loss for the apt and the 
beautiful when he sat down to prepare one of his sermons." 

He was perhaps too much of a slave to his pen, and often wasted upon 
twenty or thirt} 7 persons in a district school-house, the fruits of study 
and composition that ought to have edified thousands. The fact was, 
he did not know what kind of a man he was, and what he was capa- 
ble of doing ; and it was not the fear of man, much less an anxious 
desire to please, that impelled him to all his labor, but his high sense 
of the preacher's responsibilities, and his unbending desire to do all in 
his power to " commend the truth to every man's conscience in the 
sight'of God." 



238 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



James Ronieyn was a minister's son, born in his father's house in 
Greenbush, Albany County, in the year 1797. He graduated at 
Columbia College, in the city of New- York, in 1816, his father having 
before this time removed to Hackensack. He studied theology in the 
seminary at New-Brunswick, under Dr. Livingston, with whom he 
held confidential relations, and often accompanied him on the little ex- 
cursions which he made to preach or to attend to his business. Besides 
his labors at Nassau and Six-Mile Run, he became the successor of 
his father, J. Y. C. Romeyn, at Hackensack, for three years. Then he 
labored four years at Kaats Kill, then at Leeds for two years, then at 
Bergen Neck for six years, and finally was attacked with paralysis 
just after he had been pleasantly settled at Geneva, New- York. He 
had many calls to labor in other places. Perhaps he changed his 
position too often. His temperament was extremely nervous, and a 
little thing was sufficient to unsettle him. From Geneva he came to 
New-Brunswick, had himself declared "Emeritus," and died Septem- 
ber 7th, 1859. He left two sons, one of whom is now the pastor at 
Hackensack, in his father's and grandfather's church ; and his widow 
Johanna Rodgers, still survives him. For so great a man, he may be 
said to have been constitutionally one of the most unsteady of men 
He did a noble work, but how much more and nobler he was capable 
of doing ! 

On his tomb in the cemetery at Hackensack, N. J., where his re- 
mains rest, these words are inscribed : 

Rev. James Romeyn. 
Born Sept. 30, 1797. 
Died Sept. 7, 1859. 

" Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord ! I have passed my days as a 
Minister of Jesus Christ. That is enough ! that is enough ! I am satisfied ! God 
has led me by a right way. Bless the Lord, O my soul !" — James Romeyn. 

" These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their 
robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." — Rev. 7 : 14. 

We have a distinct recollection of James. We enjoyed confiden- 
tial intercourse with him, and can, from personal acquaintance, testify 
how much truth there is in these friendly and flattering notices of 
him. Indeed, in describing his peculiar traits of character and his 
prominent excellences, it is difficult to make an overstatement. 
Mentally he was a giant, physically and constitutionally little more 
than a child. You could love him, and then you felt as if you could 
chastise him because he was so weak, so wavering, so distrustful of him- 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 239 

self. He ought to have filled the first pulpit in the land, and he filled 
some that were almost the least prominent. Like the flower of which 
Gray sings in his Elegy, he wasted his sweetness on the desert air. 



THE CHURCH OF READINGTON— AT FIRST NORTH- 
BRANCH. 

The records of this church were kept in early days in a remarka- 
bly elegant handwriting by Albert StoothofF. They have become 
much worn and need to be restored. We have found in them seve- 
ral items of information not previously known. They commence in 
these words : 

"Anno 1719 : The church over the North-Branch, begun in 1718, 
is completed. The first sermon was preached in it on the 21st of 
Feb., 17^f, by Theodoras Jacobus Frelinghuysen, the first settled 
preacher of the four united places, as Raritan, Six-Mile Run, Three- 
Mile Run, and North-Branch. 

The baptismal register commences February 21st, 1720, when An- 
dreas Ten Eyck and Adriantje his wife had a son baptized named 
Matthew. 

The names on the first page are Abraham Dubois, John Pursell, 
Jacob Sebring, Joshua Orison, Daniel Sebring, Jan Hendricksen, 
Koenradt Ten Eyck, Derek Van Veghten, Michael Van Veghten, 
Alexander McDowal, Benjamin Burt, Jan Van Sicklen, Coert Jan- 
sen, Jacob Stoll, Teunis Van Middlewaert, George Hall, Albert 
Louw, William Rosa, Paulus Bulner, and Lucus Schermerhorn. 
We give them as among the original or first supporters and members 
of Readington church. This is not a complete list, but, by their re- 
curring frequently, they are shown to have been, at least, among the 
most active, and nearly all have had successors even down to the 
present time. 

The first elders of this congregation, appointed in 1719, were Cor- 
nelius Bogaert and Jan Hendricksen ; the first deacons, Abraham 
De la Meter and Andreas Ten Eyck. 

Anno 1721, September 6th, anew choice was made, and Emanuel 
Van Etten was elected elder and Jan Lowe as deacon, and they were 



240 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



ordained October 8th. The elder whose time expired was Jan Hen- 
dricksen — the deacon, Abraham De la Meter; so that the consistory 
then stood: elders, Cornelius Bogaert, Emanuel Van Etten ; deacons, 
Andreas Ten Eyck and Jan Lowe. 

Anno 1*722, on the 26th September, a new election was again had, 
and Abraham De la Meter was chosen elder and Volkerd Dercksen 
deacon. Jan Lowe went out of office, so that then the elders were 
Cornelius Bogaert, Emanuel Van Etten, and Abraham De la Meter ; 
the deacons, Andreas Ten Eyck and Volkert Dercksen. In 1727, 
Andrew Ten Eyck was chosen elder and Pieter Van Neste deacon ; 
Emanuel Van Etten went out of office, and those who had been 
elected were ordained September 3d. To the foregoing names were 
added, as elders or deacons, during the succeeding years up to 1736, 
Thomas Bouman, Abraham Loth, Simon Van Arsdalen, Dirck De 
Mott, Jan Van Neste. The consistory Avas in that year a full board, 
consisting of three elders, Andreas Ten Eyck, Dirck De Mott, and 
Jan Van Arsdalen, and three deacons, Abraham Lott, Pieter Van 
Neste, and Jan Van Neste. 

In 1736, a most important movement was made at a meeting of 
the Great Consistories, embracing the four united congregations. It 
was resolved that an additional pastor should be called as a colleague 
to Dominie Frelinghuysen, and a call was accordingly prepared and 
sent to Holland, to the care of G. Van Schuylenborgh, promising 
£80 currency, a house with fifty acres of land, a free horse and free 
board in all the congregations while in the performance of his pas- 
toral duties, with the expenses of examination and ordination, and a 
free passage. 

Two years previous to this a corresponding movement had been 
made at Three-Mile Run, and the Rev. Vincentius Antonides, of Long 
Island, had ordained a consistory out of the malcontents, consisting 
of Daniel Sebring and Peter Kinne as elders, and William Rosse and 
Francis Waldron as deacons. In this there was concert of action, at 
least in the three congregations of Three-Mile Run, Harlingen, and 
North-Branch. Raritan does not appear to have been represented 
in any authoritative way, though there were individuals who sympa- 
thized with it. North-B ranch was, in fact, one of the churches in 
which the " Conference" feelings prevailed to a considerable extent. 
We find indications of this down until the days of Dr. Hardenbergh, and 
references are frequently made to it in their minutes. It would even 
seem that, at one time, they hoped to gain possession of the church, 



HISTOKICAL NOTES. 



241 



and establish one of their own ministers in it. They complain bit- 
terly of the failure of Fryenmoet to secure the confidence of the peo- 
ple, and of the conduct of those who refused to admit him; and 
again, in the case of Leydeeker, the same desire is exhibited, and may 
be traced down to the time when Hardenbergh was called. They 
call him *' the pretended student." 

We may now pause a moment to estimate the two opposing influ- 
ences existing in the church. The Conferentie were not men of pro- 
gress, but the contrary. They reprobated the idea of independence 
of Holland, opposed bitterly the attempt to found an institution of 
learning, and would have nothing, until it was forced upon them, but 
a ministry from the Fatherland. They were thus impracticable men. 
Under them the church would have died out. 

On the contrary, the Coetus earnestly labored to build up, provide 
what was necessary, and their preaching and their lives sought to 
promote spiritual and evangelical Christianity. Their success is our 
prosperity. We are reaping what they sowed. 

At the same time, the following persons were appointed hefyers in 
the different churches — following, as was affirmed, the example of Paul 
in 1 Cor. 12 : 28: " God hath set some in the church, first apostles, 
secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts 
of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues" — namely : 
In New-Brunswick, Roelef Nevius, Hendrick Vischer, Abraham 
Ouke; Raritan, Hendrick Bries and Theunis Post ; North-Branch, 
Simon Van Arsdalen ; Six-Mile Run, Elbert Stoothoff. These per- 
sons, after being chosen, were set apart to their work as catechize- 
masters and leaders in the prayer-meetings, and they were empowered 
to hold their exercises publicly,, even in the church, in the absence 
of the pastor. 

They were also directed to have an oversight over all the mem- 
bers of the church, teaching them, guiding them, and encouraging 
them in their Christian life and duty. 

In 1*737, March 4th, another important step was taken in the de- 
termination to build a new church at North-Branch, and Joris Hall, 
Jan Van Sickelen, Nicholas Wyckoff, and Martin Reyersen were ap- 
pointed to carry this resolution into effect. The contemplated enter- 
prise was happily carried into effect, and on the 7th of October, 1739, 
the first sermon was preached in the new church of North-Branch, 
from Psalm 48 : 9, " We have thought of thy loving-kindness, O God, 
in the midst of thy temple," by Dominie Frelinghuysen. It was also 



242 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



decided, at the same meeting, that the consistory should meet four 
times in each year, once uniformly just before the sacrament of the 
Lord's Supper was dispensed. 

The minutes are continued regularly, and the yearly election of 
elders and deacons noted, until 1744, when Jan Van Neste, Abraham 
De la Meter, and Pieter Wortman were the elders, and Nicholas 
TVyckofF, Jacob Ten Eyck, and Martin Reyersen deacons, and then 
a broad line is drawn across the page, and we are left in darkness as 
to all that passed in the congregation until the year 1750. What 
intervened in these six years we can not know, only Dominie Fre- 
linghuysen died in 1748, and his son succeeded him. 

Anno 1750. The first sermon was preached by Johannes Freling- 
huysen — called to the churches of his honored and beloved father — 
in the church of Raritan, August 8th, from Psalm 45 : 16, "Instead 
of thy fathers shall be thy children ;" in the church of North-Branch, 
on the 10th, from Zech. 4:6," Not by might nor by power, but by 
my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts;" at Millstone, on the 17th, from 
Psalm 133 : 1, " Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for breth- 
ren to dwell together in unity !" Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen 
was dead, his son was in his place ; but where he died, when he died, 
and where his remains rest, are strangely omitted in the minutes of 
all his churches. 

The register of baptisms in North-Branch commences promptly on 
the 21st of February, 1720 — the very day when T. J. Frelinghuysen 
preached his first sermon — and records the baptism of Matthew, a son 
of Andreas Ten Eyck, one of the first deacons chosen on the first 
organization of the church. It is a beautiful register, and seems to 
have been kept by Albert StoothofF until December 7th, 1783. It 
notices a variety of important circumstances in passing on its course, 
as, for instance, the death of John Frelinghuysen on the 15th of Sep- 
tember, 1754; that T. J. Frelinghuysen the younger baptized three 
children on the 3d of May, 1747, apparently just before his father's 
decease ; that Dominie Fryenmoet baptized nine children December 
10th, 1746 ; that Ericksen baptized three March 31st, 1748, and again, 
on the 6th July, 1748, ten, both evidently after the decease of T. J. 
Frelinghuysen, and while he was temporarily supplying the pulpit ; 
again, eighteen by Fryenmoet in 1750, when he was a second time 
on his errand of strife in the congregation ; John Frelinghuysen's 
introductory sermon, August 5th, 1750 ; the introduction of the 
"New Style" on the 3d day of September, 1752, when, in place of 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



243 



the 3d, the true reckoning was the 14th of that month. It is, in- 
deed, one of the neatest and best-kept registers we have ever seen. 

From this register we derive the following names of persons who 
offered their children for baptism to the intruding ministers of the 
Conference party, namely : Elbert Voorhees, Adrian Hageman, Joris 
Middagh, Abrani Van Hoorn, Matthias Brewer, Jacob Kinne, Lode- 
wick Hardenbrook, Cornells Wyckoff, Willian Poling, Adrien S-ut- 
phiu, Marten Myer, Benjamin Louw, Cornells Van Campen, Rynier 
Yan Sicklen, William Van Neste, Hendrik Null, Abm. Yan Sicklen, 
Hendrik Yroom, Lodewyk Richtmeier, Abm. YanNeste, Jan Staatsz, 
Jan Sickelse, Jan Yan Neste, Hendrik Yan Wagenen — baptized by 
Fryenmoet, May, 1750; and previously, in 1746, by the same person, 
at ISIeshanic, but recorded at North-Branch, Abm. Yan Neste, Har- 
men Lane, Peter Middagh, William Poling, Jost Schamp, Jan Anten, 
Peter Beekman, William Hall, Jacobus Kinne ; also, by Errickson, 
in 1748, Benjamin Louw, Derik Louw, Denys Strycker, Isaac Bogert, 
Matthys Kaalsie. 

But John Frelinghuysen's short and earnest ministry of three and 
a half years came to an end suddenly and very unexpectedly to all 
his people. It was a severe dispensation of providence, and he was 
mourned greatly. Zion appeared to lay waste and desolate. Hope 
there seemed to be almost none. Ministers could not be procured 
in Holland without great expense and delay, and the church was 
divided on the policy of raising a ministry of her own. It was, 
indeed, a dark and gloomy day, and almost four years passed before 
any thing was effectually done. Then, at last, a young man was 
found to take his place, and called to enter into this wide and invit- 
ing field. It was the Rev. Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh, a student of 
Frelinghuysen, and the husband of his widow. 

But, before proceeding to notice his ministry, we turn to some 
reminiscences of an earlier date, derived principally from Dr. John 
Yan Liew's dedication sermon. 

We have noticed that a house — said to have been of logs — was 
built for the purpose of holding religious services in this vicinity as 
early as 1619 or 1620. It stood near the junction of the north and 
south branches of Raritan River, on the second bank, nearly oppo- 
site the residence of Andrew Ten Eyck. The land is now owned by 
Mr. John Yosseller. In this rude building T. J. Frelinghuysen 
preached his first sermon on the 21st of February, 1720. This house 
served as the ordinary place of meeting for the inhabitants of that 



244 



HISTOKICAL NOTES. 



district for about eighteen years. Tradition says it was burned 
down. 

The population increased during this term of years, and spread 
westward. The location appeared to be too near to the Raritan 
church, and a change was called for, in view of the erection of a 
better and more commodious house of worship. The result was that 
the new church was built about three miles further west, where the 
church of Readington now stands. It was a frame building, quite 
commodious, built in the ordinary form of churches in our State in 
those days, with the side to the street, the main entrance in the 
centre, and the pulpit directly opposite to it, with a centre aisle, and 
galleries in the ends on the right and left of the pulpit. The dimen- 
sions we are not able to state. Mr. Frelinghuysen preached the first 
sermon in this building, and, by being repaired, refitted, and painted, 
it continued to suffice as a place of worship for ninety-five years. In 
the mean time, the congregation had increased in numbers, the 
ministry in it had been blessed, and it had grown up to be one of 
the most respectable churches in Somerset County — not Somerset, 
for the change of location had not only given it a new name, but had 
also transferred it into Hunterdon County. Nevertheless, a large 
portion of the people — at this time, at least — resided in Somerset. 
Being in the township of Readington, it took that name and became 
incorporate by that title, and, in effect, the old church of North- 
Branch became extinct. 

The new church at Readington was built in 1833, under the 
ministry of the Rev. John Van Liew. It was 51 feet in breadth by 
VI in length. It was dedicated by a sermon from the pastor founded 
on 2 Chronicles 7:1," And the glory of the Lord filled the house." 
It stood thirty-one years, and was consumed by fire in March, 1864, 
but replaced at once by a larger, better, and more beautiful house, 
56 feet by 76, and dedicated July 21st, 1805, by a sermon from the 
same pastor, from Haggai 2:9," The glory of this latter house shall 
be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts : and in this 
place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts." The dedicatory 
prayer was offered by Rev. Dr. Gabriel Ludlow, of Neshanic, and 
the sermon and prayer published. Before this, Mr. Van Liew had 
been honored with the degree of D.D. by Rutgers College, Ne w- 
B runs wick. 

During the ministry of T. J. Frelinghuysen the church of North- 
Branch formed part of his charge, and enjoyed its share of his labors. 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



245 



It again united with Raritan and Millstone in calling his son, John 
Frelinghuysen, as pastor. A copy of that call is recorded in the 
minutes of the consistory both of Raritan and North-Branch, dated 
May 18th, 1*747. But it has no signatures, and apparently was not 
considered as of any importance, being not the instrument itself, but 
only a copy. 

At a meeting of the great consistory of the three united congrega- 
tions, on the 21st of August, 1750, (the minutes of which were re- 
corded in the book belonging to Earitan,) we find the first record of 
church officers under John Frelinghuysen. It is stated there that a 
new consistory was chosen for North-Branch, consisting of two elders 
and one deacon, namely, Jan Van Neste and Peter Montfort, as 
elders, in the place of Jan Van Neste and -Abraham Lametre ; for- 
deacon, Abraham Dumont, in the place of Nicholas WyckoflT. 

This election was made by an agreement which looked to the set- 
tlement of the disputes existing in the congregations, as recom- 
mended by the Coetus, that two elders and two deacons should be 
taken from Dominie Frelinghuysen's friends, and one elder and one' 
deacon from among the disaffected. 

On the 15th September, 1751, the case was again brought before 
the Coetus — in session in New-York — and the following record is 
found in the published minutes of that session : " North-Branch. — 
This case, it was determined, should be taken up to-morrow, [Septem- 
ber 12th, forenoon.] In the case of North-Branch and Raritan the- 
decision of the reverend Coetus was, that the disaffected should choose 
out of their numbers six persons ; that Dominie Frelinghuysen, with' 
his consistory, should choose two out of the six — that is, an elder* 
and a deacon — who, being ordained, two of Dominie Frelinghuysen's 
, consistory should resign, whereupon the former, being associated with 
the rest, should be recognized as the consistory, all expenses to be 
borne in proportion by each ; so shall all error and dissatisfaction 
be done away with at once." 

On this basis on the 25th of September the new consistories were 
chosen, and the following w T as the result: For Raritan, as elders,, 
Jeronimus Van Neste, Peter Willimse, Jan Van Middles waert ; as 
deacons, Pieter Van Neste, Pieter Stryker, Frans Cusaert. For 
North-Branch, Jerometan Neste, Pieter Montfort, Daniel Sebring 
elders; Marten Ryerse, Jan Dumont, and Pieter Schomp, deacons. 

In the mean time, John Frelinghuysen having died, (September, 
1754,) his congregations were left vacant. Those who had sympa- 
16 



246 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



thized with the party opposed to him and his father at North-Branch 
took this opportunity to endeavor to further their own views. We 
quote from a letter to the Classis of Amsterdam from the Conferentie 
party, dated November 9th, 1156 : " We turn to the Raritan congre- 
gation, made vacant by the death of Dominie John Frelinghuysen, 
where for two years they have been left almost without any divine 
service, although the congregation is large and scattered, and affords 
work for more than two ministers. A great part of the congregation 
was induced to call Dominie Fryenmoet, a fugitive minister who had 
been obliged to leave his place through danger of the public foe." 
'The place he left was Warwarsing. The foe must have been the 
Indians, for it was in the midst of the French war. " But a com- 
mittee, or circle of the Coetus, was called in, who did what they could 
to remove him, and now have succeeded." " The consequences of 
this can not be other than bitter, all the service now being rendered 
by those who call themselves the Coetus, to the dissatisfaction of the 
greater portion of the people." 

Again we quote : " Another instance of injury to the church is 
seen in the complaint of a committee from the North-Branch portion 
of the congregation at Raritan. The origin of the dispute there was 
the neglect of the consistory of Raritan and the associate congrega- 
tions to provide suitable ministerial service after the death of Dominie 
John Frelinghuysen, only three or four sermons having been preached 
by Low-Dutch ministers in the course of two years. Dominie 
Fryenmoet, fleeing before the public enemy, came to North-Branch, 
.and was several times asked by the consistory there to officiate, 
which he did with so much acceptance that many members of the 
four united congregations requested that he might preach in all the 
churches ; but the consistories in the other three villages refused, no 
doubt because of their engagements to a certain Hardenbergh, who 
had married the widow of Dominie Frelinghuysen. The adherents 
of Dominie Fryenmoet being by far the greater number in the four 
•congregations, bestirred themselves to obtain a subscription to have 
him for their lawful minister; but the consistory opposed this with 
all their might, and the dispute arose so high that each party called 
in the circle* to settle it. The proceedings of the circle were so 
manifold that we can not mention them; withal, not obscurely show- 
ing partisanship, that we can not relate them. But we must men- 
tion one thing, namely, that the adherents of Dominie Fryenmoet 



* Equivalent to a classis or committee. 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



247 



promised to raise the whole salary for him, and offered, further, if the 
others would call any lawful minister whom they preferred, (seeing 
the congregation required two,) that they would assist in paying 
him. Still they could not agree, and Dominie Fryenmoet had to go 
away. 

" An elder and two deacons of North-Branch, consulting together 
without the knowledge of two elders and another deacon, their asso- 
ciates, requested Dominie Leydt to preach there and choose a new 
consistory. When the time came to carry out the plan, they made 
it known to the others, and wished them to aid in making the choice ; 
but they protested against it,. as almost the whole congregation after- 
ward did, as being opposed to the church orders and the ancient 
usage of the church. Notwithstanding, the election was had, and, 
immediately afterward, the ordination also, which compelled the re- 
maining lawful members, after the lapse of four months, (for they 
could not side with the newly chosen, and the old ones who went 
out would not act with them,) to make, with their ' consalent ? 
Dominie De Ronde, a new filling up of the consistory, in order to 
heal the breach, and, as such, they have sought to maintain the 
church in the right. 

" The new consistoiy, together with the consistories of the other 
three villages, have made and executed a call upon the so-called stu- 
dent Hardenbergh, who was examined and qualified before the con- 
gregation as minister by those who style themselves the Coetus, who 
yet had no proper business with that call, not only because of the 
things above stated, but because the student was an unfit person, 
not having made the least proficiency in what belongs to the ministe- 
rial office, and having been, by the acknowledgment of all, under the 
instruction of a teacher only two years at the farthest. Besides, he 
was qualified without the order of either chassis or synod. They 
cannot, therefore, but separate from those who thus act, and they re- 
quest the aid of the classis to provide them a minister from the 
chassis." 

This letter is signed by Hagehoort, Mancius, Retzema, De Ronde, 
Fryenmoet, Rubel, Rosenkrantz, and Schuyler. We have thus 
allowed them to tell their own story, and put in a plea for their own 
cause, and the result is, we believe, in the estimation of all, that they 
were prejudiced men, men of rule and law, and not of candor, pru- 
dence, and earnestness in the pursuit of great ends in the midst of no 
ordinary emergencies and difficulties; u men of one ' idea." The 



248 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



church could not have been built up by them. They would have 
allowed a thousand things to be undone, because some rule, in their 
estimation at least, forbade the doing, but not because it was not 
right that they should be done. Evidently they meant to bring in 
at North-Branch a man of their own views, in order to strengthen 
their adherents there, and they were bitterly disappointed when not 
able to do it. Properly understood, their case condemns itself. 
Their sneers at Hardenbergh are in bad taste, and the results proved 
that they were unjust, and would have been unfortunate in their re- 
sults. We proceed, after having allowed the malcontents to state 
their case. 

The next record is dated June 14th, 1758, after the Rev. Jacob 
Rutsen Hardenbergh had been called and settled over the five united 
congregations of Raritan, North-Branch, Millstone, Neshanic, and 
Bedminster. It states that Andrew Ten Eyck was chosen elder in 
the place of Nicholas Wyckoff, and Pieter Montfort, in the place of 
Francis Waldron, and as deacon, Harmanus Lane, in the place of 
Derick Sebring. Again, June 15th, 1759, consistory met at the 
house of Andrew Ten Eyck, and chose, as elder, Jan Van Neste, in 
the place of Pieter Wortman, and Cornelius Bouwman, in place of 
Johannes Pittenger, deacon. Again, April 26th, 1760, at the house 
of Andreas Ten Eyck, were admitted to the communion of the 
church, on confession of faith, Petrus Van Neste, Mattheus Ten Eyck, 
and Maria Van Arsdalen, wife of Dirck Sebring. August 4th, 1760, 
the consistory elected were, Tennis Post and Johannes Pittenger, in 
the place of Pieter Montfort and Andreas Ten Eyck, elders; and 
Matthaes Ten Eyck, in the place of David Van Duyne, deacon. 
December 14th, 1761, as elder, Andreas Ten Eyck, in the place of 
Jan Van Neste ; as deacon, David Van Duyne, in the place of Har- 
manus Lane. January 12th, 1762, received, on confession, Nicholas 
Egbort and Jannetie Corse, wife of Edward Hamilton. January 2d, 
1764, as elder, Teunis Post, in the place of Andreas Ten Eyck, and, as 
deacons, Harmanus Lane and Michael De Mott, in the places of 
David Van Duyne and Peter Van Neste. December 31st, 1764, ad- 
mitted to communion, on confession, Derick Sutphin and Petrus 
Nevius, from Bedminster, and Catherine Bunn, wife of Edward 
Bunn, Neeltije Montfort, wife of Abraham Montfort, and Catherine 
Sutphin, wife of Peter Sutphin. 

November 4th, 1773, a meeting of the consistories of Raritan, 
North-Branch, Bedminster, and New Millstone convened at the house 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



249 



of Rynier Van Neste, in view of calling Dominie Christian F. Foering 
as a colleague of Dominie Hardenbergh, and admitting New-Mill- 
stone into the united charges. At this meeting it was agreed that 
a new church was to be built near Cornelius Van Horn's, and arrange- 
ments were made to have it supplied by the two collegiate pastors; 
and, as the old and new churches are both mentioned and provided 
for, it appears that services were intended to be held — at that date, 
at least — in both places; but the whole effort was a failure, from 
Dominie Foering declining the call. 

The last minute relating to North-Branch which we shall copy from 
the Raritan records is a meeting of consistory at the house of Michael 
De Mott, January 10th, 1774, when Jacob Bogert and wife, Cathe- 
rine Albertsen, and Margaretta De Mott, wife of Jacob De Mott, 
were received into the communion of the church on certificate, and 
William Yan Yliet, Albert Cornell and his wife Antje Stryker, Jo- 
hanna Stoothoff, wife of Abraham Dumont, Jr., Lea Simonson, wife 
of Jan Snediker, and Marya Dorlandt, wife of Cornelius Metzelaer, 
were received on confession of faith. Rev. J. R. Hardenbergh con- 
tinued to serve the church until 1781, when he resigned his call and 
removed to Rochester, New- York, taking possession of the Harden- 
bergh manor-house, and preaching to that people for a short time. 
He was then called to the presidency of Qneen's College, and re- 
moved to New-Brunswick, serving, at the same time, as pastor of the 
church. 

We have given these extracts from the minutes of Raritan, as sup- 
plying a hiatus in the North-Branch book, which, from 1757 to 1781, 
contains no records whatever. September 11th, 1781, the consistory 
met at the house of Peter Dumont, and fixed upon a line between it 
and Bedminster. Again, March 7th, 1782, at Abraham Dumont's, 
and decided to take up the call sent to Rev. Dirck Rorneyn, unless 
he should have concluded to accept it. June 19th, they met again 
at Peter Dumont's, and consulted as to the way in which they might 
succeed in having divine service performed in the congregation. 
This eventuated in the calling of Simeon Yan Arsdalen. The first 
minutes signed by him are a meeting of consistory at the house of 
John Simonson, Esq., January 15th, 1784. 

We have noticed the disaffection toward Hardenbergh on the part 
of a few people. When he had left, the same individuals, for a time, 
were supplied by Gerrit Leydecker, a licentiate of the Conference 
party. His name occurs first on their minutes June 20th, 1764, re- 



250 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



questing the assembly to unite in his behalf to the Classis of Amster- 
dam for liberty to ordain him. To this the classis assented, and 
recommended him in the strongest terms as one "taught from his 
youth in Latin and Greek, and also as having studied four years in 
the College of New-Jersey under President Burr, and received the 
degree of A.M., and then spent a year and a half, under Dominie Ret- 
zema, in divinity, and in Hebrew, under Dominie Kals." He was 
examined October 8th, 1705, and licensed as a candidate. He has, 
however, left no trace on the minutes of being at North-Branch at 
all, though it is known from other sources that he preached there in 
1769 for some time. He settled, finally, in the English Neighbor- 
hood in 1770, remained until 1776, became a Tory, fled to New-York, 
then to England, and died at the house of his son, in Pentonville, 
near London, in 1794. 

In 1783, after a vacancy of two years from the resignation of Dr. 
Hardenbergh, the candidate Simeon Yan Arsdale preached at Read- 
ington, and received the call. He was a native of Bucks County, 
Pa., graduated at Princeton, studied under Livingston, it is said, and 
applied for examination to the general meeting of ministers at Mill- 
stone, October 1st, 1782, "After a well-arranged and agreeable 
exercise upon Romans 8 : 32, he was subsequently carefully exa- 
mined by Messrs. Dirck Romeyn and Hermanus Meyer in the sacred 
languages and principal points of sacred theology, both positive and 
controversial, and, by his appropriate answers, afforded such satisfac- 
tion that the reverend body feel the freedom to receive him among 
the licentiates." He was again examined for ordination at New- 
Paltz, October 7-9th, 1783, and the Rev. Messrs. John M. Yan Har- 
lingen, Solomon Froeligh, and Benjamin Dubois were appointed to 
ordain and install him, the time being left to be fixed by them. 
They reported the fulfillment of their commission to the general 
meeting in New-York in May, 1781, and thus he became, to the satis- 
faction of all parties, pastor of Readington. He is remembered as 
one of the most amiable and accomplished young men of his day. 
He possessed both eloquence and power as a preacher, was untiring 
in his pastoral work and ardent in his piety. He received, soon 
after his ordination, a call from the collegiate churches in New-York, 
but declined it on account of his youth. His beautiful life came to 
an early and sudden close in less than three years. His remains lie 
in the church-yard at Readington, with the following inscription on 
the tablet erected at the head of his grave : : ' In memory of the Rev. 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



251 



Simeon Van Arsdale, who departed this life the 26th day of May, 
1786, in the thirty-third year of his age. 

" Here lies entombed a servant of the Lord, 
A faithful preacher of his sacred word, 
Who now with Christ in glory is set down, 
Decked in white robes and honored with a crown." 

He was succeeded, the same year, in his pastoral charge by the 
candidate Peter Studdiford. Mr. Studdiford was born in the city of 
New- York; studied under Livingston, and was licensed by the synod 
in New-York May 1st, 1787, and arrangements made for his ordina- 
tion, at the same time, on the 28th, and J. R. Hardenbergh, John M. 
Van Harlingen, Jr., and John Dnryea were appointed to perform that 
service, the sermon to be preached by Dr. Hardenbergh. Mr. Stud- 
diford preached at Bedminster, in connection with Readington, until 
1800, and then at Readington alone until his death. His long pas- 
torate fills up a large portion of the history of the congregation. He 
is remembered as one of the most efficient ministers of his day. Rev. 
Dr. Yan Liew has said of him, " The records show that, for years 
after he commenced his labors in this place, there were large acces- 
sions to the church. At the time of the great ingathering in the 
church at Somerville there was a considerable ingathering also 
here." His ministry lasted about forty years. Another says, " He 
had readiness and aptness as an extempore preacher which few pos- 
sess, almost transcending himself when suddenly called upon to take 
the place of an absentee. Instances of this we have often heard re- 
lated. Such efforts would seem to have all the finish and even more 
than the force of elaborate preparations." He died in his own house 
at South-Branch Mills. His remains lie at Readington, beside those 
of Simeon Yan Arsdale, and the following inscription is engraven on 
his tomb: "Beneath this tablet lie the remains of the Rev. Peter 
Studdiford, who, after a long and laborious ministry; died on No- 
vember 21st, a.d. 1826, in the sixty-fourth year of his age. He was 
born in the city of New-York, a.d. 1763. Having completed his 
collegiate and theological studies in the place of his birth, he was 
installed pastor of the Dutch Reformed church of North-Branch. 
Here he continued to labor with unabated zeal and diligence, until 
visited by the sickness which issued in his death. Possessing en- 
arged views of divine truth and a rich store of various knowledge, 
he was ready, instructive, and forcible in his preaching. He loved 



252 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



his Master's work, and shrunk not from labor in its performance. 
As a pastor he was affectionate and faithful ; as a citizen, truly 
patriotic; as a neighbor, benevolent, candid, and obliging; and 
as a Christian, humble, devout, and liberal." He married in 
early life, and his wife sleeps beside him. Her tombstone is 
inscribed, "Sacred to the memory of Phoebe, wife of the Rev. 
Peter Studdiford, and only daughter of James and Lavinia Van- 
derveer, of the township of Bedminster and county of Somerset. 
She departed this life March 17th, 1S08, aged thirty-three years 
nine months and eleven days. 

" As through life religion was her stay, 
So, in her dying hour, 
Through its triumphing power, 
With joy she hailed the realms of day." 

Later in life he married Maria Van Horm, who long survived 
him, and died in Somerville at the house of her daughter, Mrs. 
Ruckel. 

Mr. Studdiford was succeeded, in 1828, by the Rev. John Van 
Liew. He was called May 1st, 1827, and died October 18th, 
1869, at the house of his daughter, Mrs. Randolph, in Bloomfield, 
Essex County, N". J., after laboring in his pastorship for forty- 
two years. He was a son of Dennis and Maria (Suydam) Van 
Liew, and was born at Neshanic September 30th, 1798. He gra- 
duated at Queen's College October. 1816, studied in the theologi- 
cal seminary at New-Brunswick, and was licensed by the Classis 
of New-Brunswick June, 1820. He welcomed to the communion, 
during his ministry at Readington, 560 persons, and baptized 
1119 infants and 85 adults. As a minister he was faithful, able, 
devoted; as a man, social, kind, generous, and the very soul of 
honor — a Christian gentleman. His funeral sermon, by Rev. Henry 
P. Thompson, of PeajDack, a member of his church, was published, 
and to it we refer for an ample description of his labors and his 
character. He was entombed in the new cemetery near his 
church, and the following is the inscription on his monument : 
" Erected to the memory of Rev. John Van Liew, D.D., who died 
October 18th, a.d. 1869, aged severity-one years and nineteen 
days. For forty-eight years he served the blessed Master in the 
gospel ministry ; for forty-three years he was the faithful pastor 
of the .Reformed Church at Readington. Living we loved him, 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 253 

dead we cherish his memory, glorified we will meet him in the 
heavenly world." 

A few months before his death, in consequence of his enfeebled 
health and inability to continue his pastoral duties, he had been 
succeeded by J. G. Van Slyke, who was ordained and installed 
July 1st, 1869, Mr. Van Liew assisting in the service and offering 
the ordaining prayer. He then went away to the house of his 
daughter to rest ; but he rested soon in his grave, to labor and 
sorrow no more. Mr. Van Slyke was called to Jamaica, on Long 
Island, the next year, and left the congregation. It is now under 
the care of the Rev. J. II. Smock. 



HARLINGEN, OP DE MILLSTONE, SOURLAKD, ETC. 

This church was organized by the Rev. Henricus Coens, of 
Acquackanonk, on the 18th of May, 1827, and the first church 
edifice was built on the south-east corner of the old cemetery. 
The location of both was determined by a land-grant of one 
hundred and sixty acres, received from " the proprietors," who 
held nearly 9000 acres in the vicinity, and donated this tract for 
the benefit and behoof of the minister and consistory of a church 
to be gathered there, upon the basis of the confession of faith 
adopted by the Synod of Dort, or Dordrecht, in 1618 and 1619. 
This deed bears date June, 17 10, and seems to have been kept in 
reserve for seventeen years before it was really claimed, and the 
grant rendered permanent by occupancy and the necessary organi- 
zation of the church provided for in it. What was the character 
of the house erected is not known ; but it stood on the south- 
east corner of the cemetery, and was for some time in the pos- 
session of the malcontents to whom Arondseus preached and 
over whom he was installed. Like the other early church edifices, 
it was very contracted in dimensions and rude in structure. The 
people did what they could to provide a place for religious wor- 
ship, and it was not much ; but it showed their zeal. 

The first consistory consisted of two elders and two deacons, 
namely, Abraham Reyters and Geribrant Peters, elders ; Johannes 
Koelbagh and Resolvert Waldron, deacons; and the church was 



254 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



" the Church op de Millstone." They were chosen unanimously, 
as stated, at the house of Reynier Veghte on the 1 8th of May, 
1 727, under the direction of Dominie Henricus Coens, of Acquacka- 
nonk, after calling upon the revered name of Almighty God, 
by all those who feared God and sought to build up his church ; 
which persons, after they had been 'published to the congregation, 
were on the same day ordained and installed into their respective 
offices. 

Henricus Coens seems to be as little known as almost any 
minister who has ever exercised his gifts in the Dutch Church. 
His name does not occur in any of the published documents 
which we have seen ; nou are we able to state when he came 
from Holland. It must have been as early as 1725, for in that 
year he is found ministering in the churches of Acquackanonk, 
Bellville, Pompton, and Ponds : and he continued his ministry 
among this people for five years. He wrote to Holland a detailed 
account of the troubles in the churches of Acquackanonk and 
Bellville, (or Second River, as it then was called.) He died in 1735, 
but when and where his remains were interred we are not able to 
say. His ministry and death both antedate our published 
Minutes, and hence there is no trace of him excepting the re- 
cords of the churches where he labored. 

All the circumstances seem to indicate that the organization 
was in the interest of " the Conference party," then beginning to 
be active in the affairs of the church. They were opponents of 
Frelinghuysen ; they held the church for a time ; and they were 
supplied by ministers belonging to that party, and Rynier Veghte 
was at that time a strenuous partisan in their favor. Harlingen 
for a time was the centre of their operations and influence. We 
are not prepared to condemn them entirely, but certainly circum- 
stances in aftertimes proved that they were in the wrong. They 
were many of them conscientious men, no doubt, but prejudiced 
and partisan to a very large extent. 

In the year 1729, the elders at Harlingen were Johannes Koel- 
bagh and Resolvert Waldron ; the deacons, Guysbert Bogert f 
Casparus Yan Nostrand, and Abraham Hoover. In 1734, May 
9th, at the house of Rynier Veghte, under the superintendence of 
Dominie Antonidus, preacher on Long Island, after invoking the 
name of God, the following persons were chosen : For Millstone, 
(Harlingen,) for elders, Koert Voorhees and Daniel Polhemus ; 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



255 



for Three-Mile Run, elders, Simon Wyckoff and Hendrick Vroom ; 
for deacons, Simon Van Wickelen and Denys Van Duyn ; for 
North-Branch, for elders, Daniel Sebring and Pieter Kinne ; 
deacons, William Rose and Frans Waldron, and they were installed 
before the congregation. From the records in the other churches 
it would seem that the ordination was in the Three-Mile Run 
Church. 

This record is an anomaly, and can only be explained, it 
seems to us, by supposing that these consistories were chosen out 
of the disaffected in these congregations ; and how such a man as 
Antonidus should have done such a thing is almost marvelous. 
It is not in accordance with his spirit ; but things were loose and 
many irregularities perpetrated. Dom. Vincentius Antonideus 
came out to New-Amsterdam in 1705, and preached at 
Brooklyn, Flatlands, and Flatbush, and Bushwick, JSTew-Utreeht, 
and Gravesend until 1744, when he died. His name does not 
seem to occur as having been present in any of the 
meetings of Coetus or Conference, and a paper of that 
day says of him "that he was a gentleman of extensive 
learning, of an easy, condescending behavior and conversation, 
and of a regular, exen^lary piety, endeavoring to practice him- 
self what he preached to others ; was kind, benevolent, and cha- 
ritable to all according to his ability ; meek, humble, patriotic, 
and resigned under all his losses and afflictions, his misfortunes and 
calamities, which befell him in his own person and family. It is not? 
therefore, anywhere stated what his leaning was in the emergen- 
cies of the times, but certainly his ordaining these consistories in 
Mr. Frelinghuysen's charge must be considered as an unjustifiable 
and irregular proceeding. It was really the organization and 
the commencement of a division in these churches which lasted 
until the General Convention of l77l. They actually took pos- 
session themselves of the church, and obliged the others to build 
themselves a new house of worship. 

The disarTection was encouraged and stimulated by a very dif- 
ferent person in the years 1745, 1746, and 1747. Dom. Johannes 
Arondeus, also a preacher on Long Island from 1742 to 1747, 
when he was finally suspended by the Coetus, came and preached 
among these people. He actually had himself installed in May, 
1747, though he had no dismission from the churches on Long 
Island, in the very churches and congregations under the pastoral 



256 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



supervision of T. J. Frelinghuysen, through the co-operation of 
Fiyenmoet, and remained until June, 1748, when he went awav 
as suddenly as he had come and in the same irregular way. He 
meanwhile preached and baptized children, the records of which 
are still existing in the baptismal books of Harlingen and Read- 
ing-ton. The whole number from the different congregations 
amounts to 100 ; but the names of the parents for the most part, 
as they are given in the record, do not embrace those who really 
were the staid, intelligent, and better class of the religious people, 
though a few most honored names are found among them. This 
is particularly true of Raritan, with which our acquaintance is 
more thorough. Of this trouble in Israel, Rev. Mr. Corwin says, 
" He was a very headstrong and contrary man. The civil and 
ecclesiastical records constantly refer to him, but only to present 
him in an unenviable character. He was a violent opponent of 
the Coetus. He went so far as to have himself installed pastor 
of the churches in Somerset County by Fryenmoet, and minis- 
tered there among the enemies of Frelinghuysen. The Harlingen 
records were taken possession of by his party, and his ecclesias- 
tical acts recorded in them, for all the surrounding churches." 

After a long and factious resistance to the efforts of the Coetus 
to bring him to terms and prevent contention, the following 
minute, prepared by Dom. Ritzema and the Elder Hendrick 
Fisher, was passed April 16th, 1 752 : "It is hereby made known to 
you that the decision of the Rev. Classis made Sept. 14th, 1750, 
and confirmed by the Rev. Classis of Amsterdam, Jan. 12th, 1751, 
in relation to the question of the lawfulness and unlawfulness of 
ministry of Dom. John Arondeus in Kings County, must take effect. 
Thus Dom. TJ. Yan Sinderen is to be recognized as lawful minis- 
ter in Kings County, and Dom. John Arondeus as unlawful, and 
therefore not authorized to administer the word and sacrament 
in the Hollandish churches on Long Island. So that each and 
every one whom it concerns, professing to be a member of the 
Netherlandish Church and under the church orders established 
in the National Synod at Dordrecht, 1618 and 1619, is to show 
himself obedient to the foregoing action, which the assembly ex- 
pects. Done in our meeting in the Consistory Chambers, New- 
York, this 16th April, 1752. 

" In the afternoon, Dominie Arondeus and his friends asked for 
a copy of the proceeding. The request was granted, on co ndition 
of their paying for it. 



HISTORICAL XOTE3. 



257 



"Then advice was asked, 1. What was to be done about the 
non-payment of salary by the subscribers to Dom. Van Sinderen's 
call ? Ans. They are referred to the previous action of the 
assembly. 2. What is to be done with those who were admitted 
as church members during Dom. Arondeus's irregular sojourn on 
the island ? Ans. It is referred to the prudence of Dom. Van 
Sinderen and his consistory. 3. How is Dom. Arondeus and his 
consistory to be treated ? Ans. The minister being disapproved^ 
the consistory must be also ; consequently the church property 
must be restored to Dom. Van Sinderen and his consistory." 

Finally, Sej^t, loth, 1753, the conclusion seems to have been 
effectually reached. " The sentence before pronounced upon Aron- 
deus, ratified by the Rev. Classis, at last executed in their name, 
and again confirmed on certain conditions, must hold good, so 
that he can no longer be a minister among you." 

After this the name of the factious troubler disapj)ears from 
the records, and he died in disgrace. 

On the loth January, 1749-50, the congregation met and re- 
solved to build a church near Hendrick Canada's, on the land 
of Jan Yan Dyke. This church was finished in 1752, and the 
minutes of consistory contain a beautifully written agreement 
for the heading of a subscription, stating the object, the condi- 
tions, and the several privileges of the subscribers in regard to 
pews and other necessary arrangements. The subscription 
amounted to about £400. The building committee was Peter 
Xievius, Johannes Strycker, Garret Dorlandt, Abraham Yan Ars- 
dalen, and Roelof Yan Dyke. The old " Conferentie Church" 
at the burying-ground was finally left to itself, and after a time 
demolished. 

The church so provided for and built was the one which was 
erected by those who did not sympathize with Arondeus or 
with " the Conferentie party," and the location was the same 
as the one now occupied by the Harlingen Church. The edifice 
erected is represented as " being in the Dutch style of architec- 
ture, with high gables and steep roof, an aisle on one side, from 
which a door opened. Along the sides were short pews for the 
men, while the body of the church was divided into small squares 
occupied by chairs on which sat the women and children." 

About this time the church left off the name "op de Millstone," 
and was called the Church of Sourland. The articles agreed 



258 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



upon are sensible and proper: "Every one having a seat in the 
church, it is provided, shall agree to and stand by the following 
articles ; and if any shall be disposed hereafter to sell his seat, 
the purchaser shall be in duty bound to agree to and come un- 
der the said articles, by subscribing to them. And 2d. If the 
owner of one or more seats shall die, his nearest heir is the next 
owner, to have and occupy the same." It then goes on in the same 
careful way, to provide that the church shall be for a Low-Dutch 
Reformed preacher, lawfully called and sent. " The plan of the 
building shall be such as the building committee think best and 
approve of. What every person subscribes shall be a free gift 
thereto ; and for every pound subscribed by each, he will be in 
duty bound to work in proportion, whenever the building com- 
mittee think it necessary, with wagon and horse, or otherwise 
with a hand by the day ; and if he fails to come, when warned 
out by the committee, his fine shall be four shillings per day ; 
and if he fails turning out with wagon and horse, when notified, 
his fine shall be eight shillings per day. For this building five 
men shall be chosen by the present meeting, to carry on and com- 
plete the same, and to collect the money subscribed for it. When 
the building is finished, the committee shall have the seats num- 
bered and recorded in a book kept for that purpose. The com- 
mittee shall make an estimate of the money advanced by sub- 
scribers, and proportion it on the different seats, according to 
their value, so that all the seats go regularly to the subscribers 
in proportion to the money advanced by them." Then follow 
some minor regulations; and then it is agreed, "That three 
church masters must be chosen out of the congregation, to whom 
the building committee shall account for all moneys received and 
paid out by them, and deliver over all books and reapers to them, 
respecting the building of the church ; and in each succeeding 
year, there shall be an election of church masters, when two new 
ones are to be chosen, to serve in the place of two who are to go 
out and retire ; and those going out of office are strictly to ac- 
count to those elected in their places, and deliver over to them all 
property, books, and papers belonging to the church. And fur- 
ther, we, the subscribers, do hereby bind ourselves and our several 
heirs, and all those who occupy seats in this church, to stand by 
these foregoing articles, and to pay the sums set opposite our 
respective names, as by us subscribed." 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



259 



The church masters appointed on the 30th day of December, 
1754, were Jan Van Dyck, Henry Canada, and Cornelius Van 
Arsdalen. They were succeeded, in 1754, by John Staats, Geysbert 
Lane, and Cornelius Van Arsdalen. In 1759, Derick Gulick and 
John Van Nuyse took the place of Jan Staats and Henry Canada, 
and the catalogue is continued until 1786. 

From the organization of the Harlingen church, in 1727 to 1750, 
it experienced great vicissitudes and changes. It was not served 
by T. J. Frelinghuysen except, perhaps, occasionally, and mainly 
depended upon the minister on Long Island for what religious 
services it enjoyed ; yet it was kept alive, and seems to have 
had its communion seasons twice in each year, when the children 
were admitted to the ordinance of baptism. We can not give the 
origiual members who composed it ; but between 1 727 and 1742, the 
following were received on certificate, namely, Auguts 25th, 1721, 
Geribrandt Peterse, Johannes Koelberg, Resolvert Waldron, An- 
netje Waldron, Maria Cortsibrus, Jannetje Meyers and Jannetje 
Stienmets. October 25th, 1727, Jan. Firkeyk. April 3d, 1728, Isaac 
Gouverneur, Willem Roos, Jannetje Coermans (Coejemans), Geer- 
tray Staats, Elizabeth Krom, and Magdalena Gouverneur ; and on 
confession, Christina Roelers and Susanna Roelers. June 19th, 
1728, on certificate, Hendrick Smock, Johannes Van Houte, 
Tryntje Peterse, Anna Geertraid Everse, and Anna Woertman ; 
on confession, Cosparus Van Nostrand and Abraham Slover. Sept. 
11th, 1728, on confession, Creesje Runyen. ISTov. 6th, 1728, on 
confession, Lucus Schermerhoorn and Sophia Sehermerhoorn. 
Aug. 11th, 1729, on certificate, Dina Kouwenhoven. April 15th, 
1730, Marrietje Lange. June 10th, 1730, on certificate, Johanna 
Gouverneur. Oct. 11th, 1730, on certificate, Mitje Van Winke- 
len. Oct. 14th, 1731, on certificate, Asje Van Home ; on confession 
Helena Van Lieuven. March 29th, 1732, on certificate, Denys 
Van Deuyne and his wife ; on confession, Simon Van Winkelen. 
Dec, 16th, 1732, on certificate, Philip Yong, Jacob Wynand, Eva 
Thiese, Marietje Thiese, and Marietje Slover. April 18th, 1746, on 
certificate, Machteltie Van Duyn, wife of Hendrick Staats. Then 
follows the following list certified as being in the communion, but 
without date, namely, Albert Low, Abraham Dubois, Rynier Van 
Veghten, Jan Staats, Rem Ditmars, Jovis Bergen, Cornelius Low, 
Abraham Hageman, Reynier Van Angelen, Abraham Polhemus, 
Hendrick Herder, Johannes Gribling, (probably Sebring,) Peter 



260 



HITORICAL NOTES. 



Couenoven, Susanna Low, Deyna Van Lieuven, Helena Van 
Lieuven, Meria Backwier, Goertie Follemer, Antie Couwenhoven, 
Maria Herder. These were probably the malcontents in a body, 
brought by Arondeus to strengthen his hands and form a com- 
pany to support him. 

On the 9th of April, 1*752, John Frelinghuysen records on the 
minutes the following names as having been received on confes- 
sion of faith, namely, Gertrey Ammermar, wife of Jacobus Van 
Nuyse, Gysbert Zutphin, and Antie Schenck, wife of JohnGorden. 
A better day had at last dawned. Harlingen had become one 
of the associate charges of a man who sought only to do good 
and preach the Gospel in its simplicity ; but alas ! his life was too 
short to effect much. 

After the death of John Frelinghuysen, on September 15th, 1754, 
the church remained vacant until 1762, when it was associated with 
Neshanic in a call upon the Rev. Johannes Martinus Van Har- 
lingen. His ministry was a long one, extending to 1795, when he 
died in the service of these churches, and his remains were inter- 
red under the pulpit, and when the church was rebuilt, transferred 
to the burying-ground on the old parsonage farm, on which he 
had resided during the whole period of his service. 

" He was the son of Johannes Martinus Van Harlingen, a native 
of Amsterdam, who emigrated when a young man, and settled at 
Harlem, N. Y., where he married Maria Bussing, and soon remov- 
ed to Lawrence's Brook, near New-Brunswick." It is said that John 
M. Van Harlingen, the son of the above, was born near Millstone. 
After commencing his theological course he went to Holland, for 
the double purpose of obtaining a more thorough preparation for 
the ministry, and of being ordained by the Classis of Amsterdam. 
After completing his theological course at one of the universities 
of Holland, and receiving ordination, he returned to America. 
He entered upon his ministry in 1762, and served his double 
charge with zeal and fidelity for thirty-three years, when he fell 
asleep, universally beloved and lamented. He preached exclusively 
Dutch until toward the close of his life, when, the younger part 
of his charge requiring English sermons, he preached occasionally 
in that language. He was an evangelical preacher, a faithful 
pastor, and a patron of Learning. He was a member of the origi- 
nal Board of Trustees of Queen's College, and labored for its 
first endowment. Dom. Van Harlingen was twice married. His 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



261 



first wife was Sarah Stryker, by whom he had two children; his 
second, Elizabeth Van Deursen, who was the mother of three, one 
of whom died in infancy, and the others survived him. His name 
has passed away, but his descendants are quite numerous in Som- 
erset ; one of them is Rev. P. D. Van Cleef, of Jersey City. 

The following words are inscribed on his tomb, in the Harlingen 
Cemetery : " To the memory of the Rev. Johannes Martinus Van 
Harlingen, pastor of the Reformed Dutch congregations of Somv 
land and New-Shanick, who died Dec. 23d, 1795, in the 71st 
year of his age. 

" Van Harlingen, recalled by Zion's King, 
Finished in haste his embassy abroad ; 
Then soaring up to heaven on seraph's wing, 
Blessed angels hailed the ambassador of God." 

The want of English preaching was now increasingly felt in all 
the churches ; and a year before Mr. Van Harlingen' s death the 
United Consistories of Harlingen and Xeshanic provided for it in 
their congregations by calling the Rev. William Richmond 
Smith as his colleague, to preach in the English language exclu- 
sively, one Sabbath at Harlingen and two at Neshanic. 

Mr. Smith was a native of Lancaster County, Pa. His father, 
Rev. Robert Smith, D.D., was minister of Pequea ; and his 
mother was a sister of the celebrated brothers Samuel and Jol.n 
Blair, eminent men in their day in the Presbyterian Church. He 
had also two distinguished preachers as brothers : Samuel Stan- 
hope Smith, of Princeton College, and John Blair Smith, at one 
time President of Union College, Schenectady, and afterward of 
Hampden Sidney, in Virginia. He was a man of sound mind and 
an edifying preacher; a man highly esteemed and revered by 
the people to whom he ministered through the long period of 
twenty-five years ; a courteous, gentlemanly man. He was 
stricken with paralysis on the Sabbath day, while preaching to his 
people. He survived the attack for se v eral years, but was a wreck in 
mind and body, during the whole remainder of his life. His 
remains rest among the people of his charge in a rural cemetery 
near Flagtown ; and he being dead yet speaketh. He died on 
the 23d of February, 1820. His funeral, on the 26th, was attended 
by a vast concourse of people, anxious to testify their esteem for 
a faithful pastor and friend. The Rev. Peter Labagh preached 
17 



262 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



the sermon from 2 Timothy 4 : 7, 8. William R. Smith was not a 
popular man in the sense of attraction, but extensively popular in 
the sense of almost universal esteem ; and he was a good man, a 
faithful man, and left behind him a memory which ephemeral 
popularity seldom attains — in converts who were real Christians. 

In 1798 — three years after the death of J. M. Van Harlingen — 
the united churches called the Rev. Henry Polhemus. He was a 
native of the congregation, born at Harlingen in 1772, graduated 
at Princeton College 1794, studied theology with Dirck Romeyn, 
and was licensed in 1798. Almost immediately upon receiving 
his commission, he was offered the call from Harlingen and Ne- 
shanic as a colleague of W. R. Smith. He was to preach two 
Sabbaths at Harlingen and one at Neshanic alternately, Smith 
preaching two at Neshanic and one at Harlingen. He continued 
in this charge until 1809, when he received and accepted a call 
from English Neighborhood, in Bergen County, N. J. He re- 
mained thereuntil 1813, when he settled at Shawangunk, New- 
York, and died in 1816, after laboring there two years. He is 
represented as having been an earnest and acceptable preacher, 
laborious and conscientious in the performance of his duties, and 
humble and pious in his walk and conversation. He did a good 
work in his day, and left a fair reputation behind him, when lie 
died, as being a man of zeal, devotedness, and single-heartedness 
in all his intercourse with men, but especially in his ministry. 

In 1801, the congregation became incorporate under the laws of 
New-Jersey, and determined to change its name from Sourland, by 
which it had been known since 1750 or even earlier, to Harlingen, 
in memory of their deceased pastor. The next year, 1802, the 
people in the southern part of the congregation at Blauwenburgh 
moved in the matter of providing themselves with a house of 
■worship. The matter was brought before the Consistory of Har- 
lingen, who promised to refer it to the great consistory ; but no 
definite action seems to have been had, and for a time the matter 
appears to have been held in abeyance. The next year a motion 
was made to repair the church. On examination, it was pro- 
nounced not to be worth repairing, and a subscription was circu- 
lated to rebuild it ; but there was a failure in obtaining the requi- 
site amount. In September the matter was resumed. The great 
consistory was at first convened, and then the heads of families, 
and finally a committee was appointed, consisting of James H. 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



263 



Stryker, Samuel Beekman, William Davis, Ezekiel Blew, Garret 
Quick, Henry Borcaw, William Duryea, John Baird, and Abra- 
ham Skillman, to advise with and aid the consistory in effecting 
the desirable object of giving the congregation a new church edi- 
fice. On the 4th of November, it was unanimously resolved to 
proceed early in the next season, and Abram Stryker, Samuel 
Beekman, Cornelius Kershow, and William Davis were appointed 
managers. The work was urged forward with such energy that 
the house was completed and nearly ail the pews sold before the 
beginning of January, 1804. The cost of the building, including 
the fence, was $4,410.89. This was the third church in which the 
people of Harlingen had worshiped God ; and it stood, with some 
occasional repairs, until it was superseded by the present commo- 
dious structure. 

After the . Rev., Henry Polhemus resigned, in June, 1 SOS, an 
effort was made to obtain the services of the Rev. Peter D. Froe- 
ligh, a son of Dr. Solomon Froeligh, of Hackensack and Schalen- 
burgh ; but when the same movement was made in Neshanic, it 
met with opposition, and was finally abandoned. 

The name of the Rev. Peter Labagh, then pastor of the 
churches of Kaats Kill and Oakhill, was introduced to the atten- 
tion of the people, and a call was extended to him, which he 
accepted, and moved into the parsonage in July, 1809. He was 
installed soon after by the Rev. Peter Studdiford, of Readington. 
He served the two churches as Mr. Polhemus had done, preaching 
two Sabbaths at Harlingen and one at Neshanic, and alternating 
in this way with the other pastor, the Rev. W. R. Smith. In this 
laborious service he continued for twelve years until the death 
of Mr. Smith. Three years of this term he was, in effect, sole 
pastor of both churches, his colleague being incapacitated all that 
time for any kind of service. An effort was made to supply the 
place of Mr. Smith, and retain the arrangement between the two 
churches as it had hitherto existed; but it was not successful, 
Harlingen voted to give a call to Rev. I. N. Wyckoff, and Nesha- 
nic preferred the candidate Isaac Ferris. The result was that the 
connection was dissolved, and Harlingen agreed to retain Mr. 
Labagh's services, leaving Neshanic to provide for herself. The 
dissolution of the combined arrangement was amicably effected 
and proved mutually beneficial. From 1821 until 1844, the good 
old man went on in his work, preaching most efficiently, attend- 



264 



HISTOKICAL NOTES. 



ing Bible classes in the different districts of his congregation, and 
fostering and encouraging his Sabbath-schools. Harlingen be- 
came a famous place for gathering the largest audiences in Som- 
erset County on the anniversaries of her Sunday-schools, and the 
meetings were spirited, addressed by popular and eminent men, 
and proved largely instrumental in diffusing throughout the whole 
county an interest in the Sabbath-school work. But old age had 
come upon him in his active life. He had entered upon his seventy- 
first year. His voice, never either fall or fine-toned, had been im- 
paired by disease. He could not be well heard, especially by the 
.aged. He began to feel that his work was done, and he laid down 
his armor gracefully and retired to the residence of his daughter, 
-and there, in reading, fishing, and walking for exercise, went down 
to his grave in a dignified, devotional, and honorable way, and good 
men carried him to his burial. Late in life he had been honored 
by Mercer College (Pennsylvania) with a degree of D.D., but he 
hardly ever assumed the title in any very general way. He was 
best known and most extensively honored, in Somerset County 
especially, as Dominie Labagh, and there his name and influence 
will never be forgotten. His numerous spiritual children will 
honor him to the end. 

Peter Labagh was born in Beaver street, in the city of New- 
York, November 10th, 1 773. When the British army approached 
the city, his parents escaped to Hackensack, N. J., and made it a 
permanent residence. He commenced the study of Latin under 
William Kuypers, and continued it, under Alexander Miller, in 
the academy at Hackensack, afterward at Flatbush, under Dr. 
Wilson, and finally he completed his theological course with Dr. 
Froeligh and Dr. Livingston. His professional certificate was 
dated July 7th, 1796, and he was licensed by the Classis of Hack- 
ensack soon after this date. Almost immediately he went on a 
mission to the State of Kentucky, where many families from Ber- 
gen and Somerset Counties (New-Jersey) had settled. He orga- 
nized two churches at a place called Salt River, and returned at 
the end of the year. He was soon called to the churches of 
Kaats Kill and Oakhill, (New- York,) which he continued to serve 
until he came to Harlingen in 1821. 

A biography of Dr. Labagh has been published, to which we 
refer those who desire special information. Instead, therefore, of 
following out the events of his life in detail, we prefer to give the 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



265 



estimate of the man and the minister and character which has 
been drawn of him by two of his most intimate friends. Dr. 
Ludlow says, " He was a man of much more than ordinary powers 
of mind. He was remarkably rapid in apprehension, sound in 
judgment, and correct and delicate in his taste. His faculties 
were well balanced, and he had a large measure of what is ordi- 
narily called common sense. Without any thing in appearance, 
manner, or voice to recommend him, he was, nevertheless, a very 
profitable preacher, especially when he prepared his discourses 
with some care. He was an earnest speaker, and had much of 
the practical and experimental in his discourses, while, at the 
same time, his doctrinal statements were sound and scriptural. 
He was very much at home in deliberative ecclesiastical assem- 
blies, large and small, and exercised great influence in them. He 
was very much attached to his own denomination, while he felt a 
deep interest in the welfare of every part of the church of Jesus 
Christ. He was eminently social and genial in his disposition 
and habits, far beyond what his expression and manner would 
seem to indicate. He had a power of sarcasm and satire about 
him that was rather formidable, and a talent for retort and 
repartee which it was not easy to cope with. He Avas widely 
known in our church, and was greatly instrumental in promoting 
her interests. He had a large share in the confidence of his 
brethren in the ministry. He might have made much more of 
himself than he did, considering his natural powers and advan- 
tages ; yet he was a very valuable and useful man, and his 
memory will always be cherished." To all this we can witness 
ourselves. 

Dr. Bethune, who admired and loved him greatly, says, " Of 
Father Labagh's early, or even riper years, I know little, and that 
little only by hearsay ; the grateful, unanimous testimony of all 
who had the privilege of association with him, to his devotional 
spirit, fidelity, sagacity, and consistent virtues as a man, a Chris- 
tian, and a minister is abundant. 

" I call him Father Labagh ; for by that affectionate name all 
the members of our classis, much younger than he, were accus- 
tomed to greet and address him. He was our father, to whom we 
gladly yielded the place of superior authority ; whose council was 
at once sought, and very seldom, if ever, overborne in every ques- 
tion of disputed doctrine, method of business, or ecclesiastical 



266 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



policy. His prayers, occasional exhortations, and informal talks 
had, for ns, the unction and pleasant authority of the aged disciple 
among his little children. He resembled, in our minds, the apostle 
of love, not only in the kindness of his speech, but also in the 
searching casuistry which he had acquired from a long experience 
of a Christian and ministerial life. Never arrogant or severe, but 
ever direct and faithful; never assuming, but ever thankful for 
our ready deference, he could not avoid being conscious of the 
rank we assigned him in our fellowship ; yet he ever treated the 
youngest and meekest of lis with the respect and sympathy of 
true Christian friendship. It was this character that drew me to 
him with a love and veneration whicli increased with every oppor- 
tunity I had of enjoying his society. Perhaps this very manifest 
regard for him inclined him to think kindly of me; for he always 
treated me so as to make the hours I passed in his company very 
pleasant and profitable then, and the recollection of them will be 
cherished while my memory lasts. Pie had a keen sense of the ludi- 
crous, and often showed it in pointed epigrammatic sayings, and 
even in sarcasm, the sharpness of which was relieved by his good 
humor. He never shrank from the duty of rebuke, which none who 
received it had a right to be otherwise than thankful for. He read 
characters with instinctive skill, and was shrewd enough to avail 
himself of every advantage in an honorable strife; nor was he 
disingenuous enough to conceal his pleasure in a plain victory. 
The special grace of his disposition was its unfading youthfulness. 
Whenever he grew old, it was not in his heart. The generosity 
which moved him to forget himself or his personal po wer in the 
advancement of the church was not lessened but increased by 
age. He was always on the side of true progress, never fearful 
of enterprise or enlargement ; but, on the contrary, ready, even 
eager, to give his aid and advocacy to whatever promised increase 
of usefulness. He grew neither dull nor morose, nor pragmatical, 
but was cheerful as morning, loving the sunshine rather than the 
shade, and sympathetic with the happiness of others, fully appre- 
ciating the wisdom of the inspired maxim, that " a merry heart 
doeth good like medicine." Frugal, temperate, and self -regulated, 
he was as free from asceticism as he was from world-worship. 
Young people never felt his presence an unwelcome restraint, and 
conversation was enlivened by his sprightly reminiscences and 
Avitty pleasantries." 



HISTOEICAL NOTES. 



267 



We have greater pleasure in giving these discriminating esti- 
mates of Dr. Labagh than we could have in adding any thing our- 
selves. In 1841, feeling the infirmities of age, he cheerfully gave 
place, as we have already said, to a successor, and rested from his 
labors. He had been the instrument during his ministry of 
bringing into the church more than 500 communicants, and he 
had besides introduced, from his own communion, eight young 
men into the Christian ministry, namely, Brogun Huff, Cornelius 
Van Cleef, J. T. B. Beekman, J. P. Labagh, (his only son,) P. S. 
Williamson, J. P. Stryker, missionary to India, N. D. William- 
son, C. S. Hageman, besides David Gushing, whom he induced to 
study, and aided materially in his course. Of the original mem- 
bers of his church, numbering about sixty, only four remained when 
he resigned. The dissolution was acted on in classis on the 10th 
November, 1844, when he had completed his seventy-second year, 
upon which occasion he preached his last sermon from Revelation 
22 : 21, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. 
Amen." His closing years were quiet. He was respected and 
frequently visited by his brethren in the ministry, and he died in 
a good old age — " an old man and full of years." He deceased on 
Monday, October 25th, 1858, aged 84 years 11 months and 15 
days. His funeral was attended on the 27th at the house of his 
son-in-law, Lawrence Vanderveer, Esq., where Rev. Dr. Van Vran- 
ken, of New-Brunswick Theological Seminary, offered prayer, and 
then at the Harlingen Church, where Rev. Dr. G. Ludlow preach- 
ed a sermon — published afterward as an appendix to his memoir 
by Rev. J. A. Todd. It was a bright and beautiful autumnal 
day, and the withered leaves, falling thickly in the forests, seemed 
to say to the gathered throng in solemn accents, " We all do fade 
as the leaf." 

The remains of Dr. Labagh were, in the first instance, deposited 
in the old Harlingen Cemetery, but were subsequently removed to 
Rock Hill, in the certain hope of a joyful resurrection to im- 
mortal life. Upon his tomb we read the following inscription: 
"In memory of Rev. Peter Labagh, D.D., born Nov. 10th, 1773, 
died Oct. 25th, 1858. The faithful pastor who here sleeps in 
Jesus was ordained to the ministry in 1796, missionary to Ken- 
tucky in 1797, called to the pastoral office of the Reformed Church 
of Catskill in 1798, of Harlingen in 1809, of which he continued 
pastor for 35 years. As a preacher lie was solemn, earnest, per- 



268 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



suasive, and always instructive; as "V pastor, attentive to his 
flock in sickness and in health ; as a member of the different 
church courts, wise in council, strong in debate ; and in all the 
relations of life, husband, father, friend, devoted and sincere. 
The memory of the just is blessed." 

On the 21st of August, 1844, preceding Dr.. Labagh's last ser- 
mon, the consistory had resolved to call as his successor John 
Gardener, a licentiate from the seminary. This call was ap- 
proved on the 15th of October, and on the 14th November he was 
ordained and installed pastor of the church, Rev. G. Ludlow again 
preaching the sermon, from 2 Timothy 4 : 5. He still remains 
the minister of the church. 



THE CHURCH OF NESHANIC. 

The records of the church commence on the 25th of August, 
1752, and recite that the consistory of North-Branch, on account 
of the necessity of establishing the Christian ordinances and hav- 
ing the Gospel preached, had consented to dismiss Bernardus 
Verbryck and 'his wife, Abraham Dubois, Sen., Abraham Dubois, 
Jr., Albert Low and his wife, William Low, John Dumont and 
his wife, John Montfort and his wife, in all eleven persons, for 
the purpose of forming a new congregation, and continues to 
give notice that Bernardus Verbryck and Abraham Dubois were 
chosen for elders, and Johannes De Mott and William Low dea- 
cons in said church and congregation of Neshanic. This record 
is in the handwriting of Dominie Johannes Frelinghuysen, of 
Raritan, and gives us the date of the organization of the Nesha- 
nic church, and the names of the first consistory. 

On a preceding page, but without date, referring evidently to 
the same matters, are certain articles of agreement between per- 
sons formerly belonging to the church of North-Branch, with 
certain others from other congregations, agreeing or covenanting 
to call a neighboring minister belonging to the " Coetus" and 
maintaining the doctrines of the Articles of the Synod of Dort, 
161 S and 1619, and to provide a proportionate maintenance for 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



269 



him, according to the service which he may render ; to unite, for 
this purpose, with the congregations of Raritan, North-Branch, 
and Millstone ; to commence the building of a church for said 
new congregation between the residence of David Genoe and " the 
Lawrence Line," the site to be determined by a majority of 
voices of those who have subscribed toward its erection, with 
other minor considerations, all showing how deliberately they 
entered upon the work of establishing a new church. This cove- 
nant is subscribed by Bernardus Verbryck, Abraham Dubois? 
Sen., Abraham Dubois, Jr., John De Mott, Laurence De 
Mott, William Post, John Doiiant, Cornelius Van Arsdalen, 
Jacobus Nevius, Pieter Van Dyke, Pieter Montfort, Jan Mont- 
fort, Lucus Nevius, Derick Low, Albert Stothoff, Adrian Hage- 
man, Joichim Gulick, Jacobus Gulick, and John Brower, men of 
substance and character, and enough to warrant the undertaking. 

To this list there is appended a subscription of nearly £100, for 
the purpose of carrying out the agreement recited above. Then, 
on the 11th of October succeeding, it is recorded that the site for 
the church w r as determined by a majority of voices to be on the 
Amwell Road, between the residences of Lawrence and John De 
Mott, on the Knoll, on the north side of said road. This appears 
to be all that was accomplished during the lifetime of John Fre- 
linghuysen. The inference is that the work undertaken with so 
much deliberation was carried forward to a successful conclusion 
during the winter and the summer of 1753 and 1754. Mr. Fre- 
linghuysen died on the 15th of September, 1754, and probably 
never preached in the church. 

The next record is dated May 21st, 1757, and refers to the 
election of a consistory under the direction of Rev. JohnLeydt, of 
New-Brunswick, at the house of Andreas Ten Eyck. John De 
Mott was chosen elder, and John Montfort deacon ; and then it 
recites that they were ordained on the 13th January succeeding, 
in the church at North-Branch, by Dominie Romeyn. This was 
Thomas Romeyn, who had married Margaretta Frelinghuysen, 
the elder daughter of Theodoras J. Frelinghuysen. 

The register of baptisms commences May 23d, 1760, with the 
names of Jan and Sarah Wycoff presenting a daughter, Neeltjie, 
and Jacobus and Elizabeth Hegeman, a son, Pieter, and Daniel 
and Catleyntie Hunt, a daughter, Catlyntie — all on the same 
day. This register is complete, and has been continued until the 



270 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



present time. We gather from its earlier years some names 
which it may be of interest to preserve, as belonging to the 
congregation in its beginnings, such as John Huff, George Ber- 
gen, More Beyaert, John Cox, Bernardus Yan Zant, Thomas Hall, 
Peter Petersen, Hendrick Dilts, Dominicus Stryker, John Yan 
Nest, Abraham Yoorhees, Tennis Cornell, Hendrick Jansen, 
Hengh Higse, Dominicus Yan Dyke, Joris Broca, and Hendrick 
Pippenger. The list, as contained in the first book, ends January 
24th, 1794, with the baptism of Sarah, daughter of Ruleph Peter- 
son. These were some of the first supporters of the Xeshanic 
church. 

On the 28th of August, 1758, under the superintendence of 
Rev. John Leydt, Rem Yanderbeek was appointed elder, and 
Lawrence De Mott, deacon ; and again July 29th, 1759, the Rev. 
J. R. Hardenbergh presiding, Bernardus Yerbryck was ordained 
as eider, in the room of Johannes De Mott, whose term of service 
had expired. This last record indicates the time when Xeshanic 
had united with the other congregations in Somerset County, in 
calling the Rev. Jacob Rutsen Hendenbergh as their pastor. 
They had all been vacant since John Frelinghuysen's death, 
in 1754. Their attention had been directed to him, probably, 
from the fact that he had married Mr. Frelinghuysen's widow. 
It was a time of great distraction in all the Dutch churches, but 
perhaps especially in those in Somerset County. Fryenmoet, one 
of " the Conferentie preachers," had been preaching to those who 
were disaffected toward the Frelinghuysens, and at Xortk-Branch 
especially a strong effort had been made to effect his settlement. 
He had spent some months there preaching and baptizing chil- 
dren, and endeavoring to gain the confidence of the people, but 
had not succeeded. Hardenbergh had been licensed in May, and 
was now already living in the house in Somerville, which had 
been built with the bricks sent over from Holland, in the same 
ship which brought out John Frelinghuysen and his wife, Dinah 
Yan Bergh. Xeshanic was organized as a Coetus church, and 
did not sympathize with the malcontents, as many families in the 
other churches had done. 

This connection continued to exist until 1761, when Harden- 
bergh went to Holland for the purpose of bringing over his wife's 
mother. It is not ascertained exactly how long he was absent, 
but probably during nearly the whole of the year 1762. It was 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



271 



during this, the year of his absence, that Neshanic withdrew from 
its connection with the other four churches, and formed a union 
with Harlingen, or Sourland as then called, to obtain the services 
of Rev. Johannes Martinus Van Harlingen. This proved to be a 
lasting connection, and continued until it was dissolved, in 1795, 
by Mr. Van Harlingen's death. In 1780, in order to obtain more 
preaching, however, Neshanic united with Millstone in obtaining 
a part of the services of Solomon Froeligh, and this connection 
continued for six years, until 1786. Then, feeling the necessity 
of having preaching in the English language, for the benefit of the 
junior members of the congregation, she called, in conjunction with 
Harlingen, the Rev. William R. Smith. He was to preach two 
Sabbaths at Neshanic, and one at Harlingen. He was thus more 
entirely identified with the people of Neshanic than of Harlingen. 
He also made his residence in the bounds of the congregation, 
living on a parsonage farm, less than two miles east of the church. 
The impression of his character and preaching was left very 
permanently on the peopie of Neshanic, and his grave is with 
them, as a perpetual reminder of what he was and what he did to 
win them to the ways of righteousness and peace. His long 
ministry, continuing in its activity until 1817, and ending only 
with his death in 1820. w r as a great blessing to the people in 
every sense. It was an earnest and a faithful ministry ; and was 
blessed by an increase of the church, and an elevation of the 
standard of piety among the whole community. He did a blessed, 
an extensive, and a lasting work at Neshanic. 

Rev. William Richmond Smith was born at Pequea, Lancaster 
County, Pa., in 1752. Pie was a younger son of the Rev. Robert 
Smith, D.D., of Pequea, and his mother was a sister of the cele- 
brated Samuel Blair, of New-Londonderry, Pa., the father of Dr. 
John Blair, both ministers of wide influence and usefulness in the 
Presbyterian Church. He had also two distinguished brothers, 
Samuel Stanhope Smith, the successor of Dr. Witherspoon in the 
presidency of Princeton College, and John Blair Smith, the first 
president of Union College, Schenectady, and subsequently of 
Hampden Sydney College, in Virginia. Though not, perhaps, 
equal in mental endowments or in pulpit talents to his celebrated 
brothers, he was a man of sound mind, of a deep and ardent piety, 
and a truly edifying preacher. Hence he became a man highly 
esteemed and revered by the people to whom he ministered 



272 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



through the long period of five and twenty years, a conscientious, 
gentlemanly man, " endeared and loved." He was stricken with 
paralysis while preaching to his people. He survived the attack 
for several years, but was a wreck in mind and body during the 
remainder of his life. His remains are interred in the cemetery 
near Flagtown, and he " being dead yet speaketh." His funeral, 
on the 2Gth of February, 1820, was attended by a vast concourse 
of people from the surrounding country, anxious to testify their 
esteem and veneration for so faithful a pastor and friend. Rev. 
P. Labagh, his colleague of Harlingen, preached the sermon from 
2 Tim. 4 : 7, 8, " I have fought a good fight, I have finished my 
course, I have kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up for me a 
crown of glory, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give 
me in that day." On the tablet which stands at the head of his 
grave you read, " Sacred to the memory of William Smith, for 
twenty-live years one of the ministers of the united congregations 
of Shannock and Harlingen. He died February 23d, 1820, in the 
sixty-eighth year of his age. The memory of the just is blessed." 
Beside him rests his wife, and on her tablet we read, " In memory 
of Rachael Stidman, relict of Rev. William R. Smith ; born July 
8th, 1770 ; died December 8th, 1840." She survived her husband 
nearly twenty years, and was finally united with him in his 
rest. 

Xeshanic had now been united with other churches in the sup- 
port of a minister for the space of sixty-eight years. Her growth 
as a congregation had not been rapid, but it had been substan- 
tial. Her people had increased in numbers and in wealth. It 
was time for her to enjoy the benefit of the labors of a pastor for 
herself, and she determined to make the effort. A call was given 
to the candidate Gabriel Ludlow, recently from the seminary in 
Xew-Brunswick, and was accepted. He entered upon bis labors 
on the 5th September, 1821. Fifty years from that date, Septem- 
ber 5th, 1871, he preached an anniversary sermon commemorative 
of his long and patient labors among the people of his charge. 
It was attended by many of his brethren in the ministry, and a 
reception and collection were given at his house after the exer- 
cises in the church had closed ; a purse was donated to him con- 
taining nearly 81000, and many kind things said by his ministe- 
rial brethren during the afternoDii for his encouragement and 
comfort. He is yet in the harness, standing up and preaching 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



273 



Christ with almost youthful vigor ; and may he be spared to do so 
for long years to come ! The history of his ministry, when it 
comes to be written, will be an example for all. 



MILLSTONE, NEW-MILLSTONE, HILLSBORO. 

The first religious organization in the village of Millstone was 
effected through the agency of the presbytery of New-Brunswick. 
The English settlers in that vicinity petitioned them to give them 
regular religious services. At their meeting;' at Baskins^ridsje, 
October 3Uth, 1759, this petition was acted on and provision made 
for stated supplies. Some of the Dutch families united with this 
organization, and a house of worship was erected about the year 
1760. It was, for a time, occupied once a month by the He v. 
IsraeL Reed, the pastor of the Presbyterian church at Bound 
Brook. At the same time the Dutch families had the ministers of 
their denomination serving them about as often, thus giving the 
people a public religious service at least once in two weeks. Rev. 
John Leydt, of New-Brunswick, Van. Harlingen, of Harlingen, and 
especially J. R. Hardenbergh, of Raritan, participated in render- 
ing; these services. The church which had been built was not 
large and was never really completed. It stood south of the 
present church, on land now owned by Mr. Van Cleef, a barn-like 
structure without paint or any thing inviting about it. 

In process of time difficulties in regard to its occupancy sprung 
up among the people, and those who were attached to the doc- 
trines and orders of the national church in Holland determined to 
erect another church for themselves. The Presbyterians had sup- 
plies given them by presbytery, and continued their own services 
for many years, a Mr. Elmore preaching for them, among the 
last, at or near the beginning of the present century. There was 
even a long correspondence between the presbytery and classis in 
reference to their respective rights to the territory in and about 
Millstone. Finally their church edifice became unsafe, and was 
taken down in the year 1809. It was a small house with a very 
steep roof, without cupola, and plain in its profile. When re- 



274 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



moved, the land was sold and the avails divided among the heirs 
of the original donor, a Mr. Ten Eyck, and so the Presbyterian 
interest in Millstone ceased. 

On the 26th July, 1766, seventy heads of families, namely, 
Peter Schenck, Cornelias Van Liew, Hend. Probasco, Ab. Van 
Beuren, Hend. Schenck, Jice Smock, John Vanderveer, Lawr. 
Vanderveer, Rem. Ditmars, Bergun Coevert, Jr., Sam. Brewer, 
John Vandoren, John Smock, Peter Stryker, Dan. Coevert, Jac. 
Wyckoff, Jac. Van Nostrand, Henclk. Wilson, Jerh. Douty, Jan 
Stryker, Cor. Lott, John Probasco, Christian Van Doren, Ab. 
Van Doren, Phil Folkerson, John Blanco, Peter Blanco, Ab. 
Metzelaer, Peter Perrine, Bergon Huff, Jer. Stillweli, Jac. Stryker, 
William George Prall, Mary Arrismith, Jacob Metzelaer, Aron Van 
Doren, William Spader, Peter Cavaleer, Peter Wilson, John Chris- 
topher, John Brokau, John Hoogelandt, John Coevert, Mindert 
Wilson, Isaac Brokau, Joseph Arrismith, Joseph Vanderveer, 
Rem. Garretson, Juryee Van Cleef, Derrick Croesen, Peter 
Wyckoff, John Powelson, Stephen Terhune, Douwe Ditmars, 
Hendk. Vanderveer, Luke Rynierson, Reynier Van Hengelen, Sam- 
uel Gerretson, Jac. Gerretson, Stoffel Van Arsdalen, Gerret Ter- 
hune, Josh. Cornell, Barent Stryker, Gertje Cornel, John Ditmars, 
Roelof Terhune, Marritje Van Nuys, and William Corteljou, ad- 
dressed a "petition" to the Dutch ministers and elders of Raritan, 
New-Brunswick, Six-Mile Run, and over the Millstone, (now Har- 
lingen,) as follows : " We, the undersigned, belonging to the afore- 
said congregations, and living where the four congregations meet, 
finding it very inconvenient, and sometimes impossible, to attend 
the Dutch church or Dutch services with our families, which, in 
view of God's command and our baptismal vows, we feel to be 
the duty of ourselves and our children, and also for other reasons 
which we might present, therefore we have deliberated whether a 
new congregation ought not to be established, by taking some 
from each of these congregations; and having considered it advi- 
sable, we request respectfully your counsel and advice. If our 
desire be approved — and our prayer is that it may prosper — and 
we, on the Lord's day, once a month, or as often as possible, may 
be served by our three ministers, then, for the accomplishment of 
the same, we will provide a place of worship and a salary. This 
petition we sign with respect, submission, and love, praying Al- 
mighty God to overrule all things for the best. And further- 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



275 



more, the salary, as is usual, shall be paid by each one of us= 
The reverend ministers above mentioned are invited, with elders 
from each of the congregations, to come together at the house of 
Peter Schenck, on Monday, the 11th day of August proximo." 

Accordingly, on the 11th day of August, 1766, Rev. John 
Leydt, pastor of the churches of New-Brunswick and Six-Mile 
Run, with an elder respectively from each, namely, Hendrick 
Fisher and Abraham Voorhees; Rev. Jacob R. Hardenbergh, of 
Baritan, with the elder Reynier Van Neste, and the Rev. J. M. 
Van Harlingen, of Neshanic and Sourland, with elders Simon Van 
Arsdalen and Johannes De Mott, met together at the house of 
Peter Schenck, and, after prayer, each of the points of the peti- 
tion was thoroughly discussed, and the petition and plan were 
approved, except that the new congregation should not have the 
ser vices, of the three ministers without the consent of their re- 
spective congregations, as it would infringe on their calls. They 
at once, after arriving at these conclusions, proceeded to elect a 
consistory and to establish the congregation under the name of 
" JVeiu- Millstone" Joseph Cornell and Peter Schenck were 
chosen the first elders, and Johannes Hoogelandt and Abraham 
Van Doren, M.D., the first deacons. Dominie Leydt, of New- 
Brunswick, was appointed to ordain the new consistory on a sub- 
sequent day, (date not given;) but, being prevented from per- 
forming this service by an accident, Dr. Hardenbergh, of Raritan, 
attended to it in his place, and the church was regularly ushered 
into being, the first regular organization in the county of Somer- 
set. 

The three neighboring ministers, by an arrangement with their 
congregations, preached each at Millstone four Sabbaths in a 
year, giving them, in this way, one service in a month. This, 
however small it seems to be, continued to be the arrangement 
for eight years. 

The first thing the consistory attempted, in furtherance of their 
purpose to secure for themselves and their children the ordinances 
of the church, was to erect a house of worship. A subscription 
was circulated as . early as December of the year 1766, which 
amounted to £446, or $1115. The subscribers agreed to pay their 
quotas in four installments, at intervals of six months, beginning 
on May 1st, 1767. The conditions of subscription provided that 
the house should be built on land near " Somerset Court-house" — - 



276 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



Millstone being then the county-seat — the land to be bought of 
John Smock, and that the church should unite with the " Coetus 
party," the party of liberty and advancement, as then understood. 
Aid pecuniarily was sought both in New- York and Long Island, 
and a subscription amounting to $260 obtained. The land for 
this church was ultimately given by John Van Doren, immedi- 
ately north of the present parsonage lot. It is, at present, in- 
cluded in the garden of Dr. Fred. Blackwell. But John Smock, 
who owned the site where the church now stands, being willing 
to exchange it for his land, considered more eligible, it was taken, 
and the deed stands in his name, dated January 7th, 1767, and 
gives it to seven trustees, for the use of the congregation. Their 
names are Rem. Ditmars, Hendrick Wilson, John Probasco, John 
Vanderveer, Cornelius Van Liew, John Van Doren, and Henry 
Probasco. It comprised tenths of an acre, and was valued at 
£10. It has been enlarged by three different purchases since, and 
now includes a little more than one acre. The house of worship 
was completed in about a year and three months from the date 
of the organization of the church. Like the churches of that day 
it was longer in front than in depth. It contained in all sixty 
pews. In the Revolution it was greatly damaged by the use to 
which it was subjected by the troops at different times ; but, being 
repaired, it stood for sixty years, and was finally succeeded by 
the present house, the corner-stone of which was laid on the 8th 
of June, 1828. 

The baptismal register commences April 3d, 1767, with Eva, a 
daughter of Dr. Van Beuren. At this time the church numbered 
only fifteen members in communion, including the elders and dea- 
cons. Ten were added in confession and two by certificate, while the 
first arrangement of supplies from neighboring ministers continued, 
and about $40 per year was paid by the Church of Millstone to 
the different consistories for the services of their pastors in that 
church. 

In the year 1774, on the 23d of July, contemplating the settle- 
ment of a pastor for themselves, the congregation purchased a par- 
sonage farm, containing about fifty- three acres. It is now the resi- 
dence of J. H. Wilson, Esq. The house on it needed repairs, and 
these were provided for at once ; and now, being, as they believed, 
fully prepared to sustain public worship among themselves, 
they renewed their call upon the Rev. Christian Frederick Foer- 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



277 



ing, of the city of New- York, a preacher in the German Church, 
and their call was accepted October, 1 774. He had been called 
as co-pastor with Dr. Hardenbergh, of Raritan, in November of 
the preceding year, but had declined. He represents, in a letter, 
that the Dutch language was rapidly passing away from Mill- 
stone, and that he was expected to preach only in English, so 
that we have the time fixed when English preaching only began 
in Millstone. 

Rev. C. F. Foering was a native of Hanover, Germany ; was 
educated at Germantown, Pa., probably under G. H. Dorstius 
a contemporary and friend of T. J. Frelinghuysen ; was called to 
the German Reformed church of Germantown, in 1771 ; and on 
the 21st of March, 1772, received a call to New- York City, as 
successor to the Rev. Mr. Kern. In process of time he had trans- 
ferred his ecclesiastical relations to the Coetus, which prepared 
the way for his entering into connection with the Dutch Church. 
He was driven from his home by fear of the British soldiery, 
constantly ravishing the district of Millstone during the winter 
of 1779. He was sick, and from the exposure contracted a cold 
which led to phthisis, and he died on the 29th of March, 1779. 
His remains were interred under the pulpit of his church, and 
still rest there. He was eminently a good man and a most 
faithful pastor. 

In the mean time the court-house in the village had been 
burned by Lieut.-Colonel Simcoe's Queen's R:mgers on the 26th 
of the preceding October, and the people from all their sufferings 
and losses were almost in despair; but Providence interposed and 
sent them, unexpectedly, Rev. Solomon Froeligh, who became 
their pastor. He appeared in Millstone in the spring of 1780 as 
an exile from Long Island. The people at once, through the 
influence and advice of the Rev. J. M. Van Harlingen, nego- 
tiated with him for his services. He declined a temporary arrange- 
ment, but offered to accept a call. It was instantly made out 
for him, and he accepted it and moved into the parsonage on 
the 5th of June the same year. It was not competent for him 
to obtain a dismission from his charge on Long Island, and hence 
the synod meeting in October, at New-Paltz, took the unusual 
measure of empowering a committee, raised to settle the dispute 
of boundaries between Millstone and the neighboring congrega- 
tions, in case they succeeded, to approve the call and grant him 
18 



278 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



a dismission from his charge on Long Island, that he might be 
able to accept the call and become the pastor of Millstone. 

The minute of this action is of sufficient importance to quote : 
" At the same time, the committee are hereby authorized, in the 
name of this reverend body, to approve the call made by the con- 
gregation of New-Millstone upon Mr. Solomon Froeligh, and there- 
upon (in this very unusual case) to dismiss him from his former 
congregations on Long Island, from which, having been driven 
by the enemy in these disturbed times, he can obtain no regular 
ecclesiastical discharge, being fully satisfied of his blameless, 
profitable, and edifying converse in these congregations, as also 
in others in which he has since served ; and as a committee for 
this purpose Drs. Hermanns Meyers, Dirck Romeyn, Samuel Ver- 
bryck, and Benjamin Duboise, or any two of them, are appointed, 
each with an elder from his congregation." (Minutes of Coetus, 
Oct. 3d, 1780.) 

In the mean time, before the settlement was consummated, 
Neshanic applied for a participation in Mr. Froeligh's services, 
though it constituted, with Sourland, a part of the pastoral 
charge of J. M. Van Harlingen. Articles of agreement were 
entered into, and the call, as finally approved, embraces the two 
churches, and is dated Sept. 4th, 1*780. He was to preach two 
Sabbaths out of three at Millstone and one at Neshanic, and 
alternate the Dutch and English languages. At Neshanic, in the 
long days of summer, he was to preach twice a day, after a short 
intermission, and was to receive from Millstone 160 bushels of 
good wheat, and from Neshanic 108. It was changed April 12th, 
178-J-, to £120 proclamation money, divided between the two 
congregations, Neshanic providing £40 and Millstone £80 of the 
sum total. 

On October 1st, 1*782, the synod convened at Millstone, but it 
consisted only of nine members. Dr. Derick Romeyn preached 
the opening sermon from Isaiah 4:5, and Dr. Hermanus Meyer, 
of Pompton, presided. At this meeting the Rev. Simeon Van 
Arsdalen was examined for licensure. He became soon after the 
pastor of Readington, and died early. 

Solomon Froeligh labored in his charge in Somerset county 
about six years. He then received, 1786, a call from the united 
congregations of Hackensack and Schralenbergh, which he 
accepted. Here he labored and died Oct. 8th, 1827. The latter 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



279 



part of his career was unfortunate both to him and to the 
church. He was the principal occasion of the secession of cer- 
tain ministers in 1823 in Bergen County, and on the Mohawk, 
calling themselves the True Reformed Dutch Church ; was 
deposed and never restored to his functions as a minister and 
professor. The temporary union between Neshanic and Mill- 
stone ceased when Froeligh left. Mr. Leydt having also in the 
mean time died, New-Brunswick and Six-Mile Run became dis- 
connected, and a new alliance was formed. 

It was now determined to unite Millstone with Six-Mile Run, 
and to call the Rev. John M. Van Harlingen, a young man just 
licensed by the synod convened in New- York, October, 1786. 
The call is dated May 1st, 1787. The churches were to pay him 
£130 in equal parts, and to have equal services. In Millstone 
one half the service was to be in English, and at Six-Mile Run 
one third. We have given the history of this pastorate in our 
notes on Six-Mile Run. The same union continued to exist 
under Dr. Cannon. He was ordained and installed at Millstone 
May 1st, 1797, and continued to serve the people until 1807, 
when the connection between the two churches was dissolved and 
Dr. Cannon became the pastor of Six-Mile Run alone, and Mill- 
stone called the Rev. John Schureman. He was called from 
Bedminster April 20th, 1807. He was a native of New-Bruns- 
wick, a descendant of Jacobus Schureman, who came from HoIt 
land with Frelinghuysen and married a sister of his wife, a Miss 
Terhune, of Long Island. He Was born Oct. 19th, 1778, gra- 
duated from Queen's College 1795, studied under Dr. Livingston, 
and was licensed in 1800. He had been settled at Bedminster 
about six years. He lived during his residence at Millstone in 
the place occupied by Mr. Jacob Van Cleef, near Biackwell's 
Mills. His connection with Millstone was very brief. He re- 
ceived a call from the Collegiate Church in New-York, and the 
Consistory of Millstone agreed to unite with him in a request 
for a dissolution of their connection Nov. l7th, 1809. 

John Schureman was not robust in his health, and soon left the 
city for a place in the college and died there May loth, 1818. Dr. 
Gabriel Ludlow, who knew him well, says of him, " He was one 
of the worthies of our church, a man greatly beloved and confided 
in. He had nothing very remarkable in his appearance or man- 
ner. A stranger on meeting him or passing him would proba- 



280 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



bly have thought or said, 'There goes a -sensible, kind-hearted 
man, an unpretending, humble man/ His constitution of body 
was rather frail from his childhood, and needed care on his own 
part and indulgence on the part of those to whom he ministered, 
to keep him at all in a proper condition for the pastoral work. 
When called to New- York, he sustained his reputation and com- 
peted successfully with some of the most popular city ministers. 
He could not preach any thing but a solid, judicious discourse, 
logically arranged, and therefore lucid in every part and symme- 
trical. In his style he was not strong or sparkling, but simple, 
clear, neat, direct. In manner not rapid or fervid or impas- 
sioned, bat distinct in his enunciation, just in enrphasis, affection- 
ate in tone, with not much but proper and rather graceful gesti- 
culation ; altogether making the impression of a man that felt in 
his own soul the power of the truth and was desirous that his 
hearers should be profited by his ministrations. His course was 
a short one, though useful while and as long as it lasted. It was 
a melancholy day when the tidings came that Dr. Schureman was 
no more, and it was another melancholy day when those who 
loved him (and they were many) assembled to commit his 
remains to their long resting-place. Even the tolling bell was 
mute in mercy to the stricken, bereaved widow. The character- 
istics of the man, on only a short acquaintance, were amiability, 
-solidity, and Christian discretion. These qualities showed them- 
selves everywhere and at all times, in his family, among his 
pupils and his people when lie had a pastoral charge, and in all 
his intercourse. If Dr. Schureman had showed himself harsh, 
selfish, frivolous, rash, every one that knew him would have been 
astonished with great astonishment. Such manifestations would 
have been thought foreign to the man. People would, almost 
have thought that there was something like a temporary metem- 
psychosis in the case. It is now nearly if not quite half a cen- 
tury since he passed away from among us, but we who survive 
him among his pupils still think of him with a mournful plea- 
sure, and make powerful draughts upon memory that we may 
recall all that is possible of such a man and such an instructor." 
His remains sleep beside the other professors in. the churchyard 
in Xew-Brunswick. We have given a fuller account of him 
already as one of the pastors of the church in that city. Perhaps 
we ought to have been satisfied with what was said, but we felt 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



281 



like giving a wider publication to Dr. Ludlow's admirable sketch 
of the man. It is a finished picture. 

When Dr. Schureman left Millstone the church seemed to be 
almost in despair. It was a great loss indeed; but that kind 
Providence which watched over the interests of the yet feeble 
congregation interposed and gave relief. The attention of the 
people was directed to the Rev. John L. Zabriskie, settled over 
the united churches of Greenbush and Winantskill, near Albany. 
He preached at Millstone for the first time in the month of 
February, J 810, and took charge of the church, moving his 
family into the village in the month of May, 1811. He was 
installed by Dr. Cannon, and he remained with the church as one 
of her most faithful pastors until he died Aug. 15th, 1850 — 39 
years and three months. 

John L. Zabriskie was, it is said, of Polish extraction, a de- 
scendant of Albert Saborowiski, who arrived in this country in 
the Fox, in 1662, and of the fourth generation; born March 4th, 
1779. He graduated at Union College, Schenectady, in the very 
first class, in 1798 ; studied theology with Dr. Derick Romeyn, 
and was licensed by the Classis of Rensselaer in 1801. He 
settled as successor to the Rev. J. V. C. Romeyn almost imme- 
diately at Greenbush and Winantskill, and continued to serve 
these churches faithfully and acceptably for eight years. The 
church at Millstone was comparatively weak, having only about 
70 members in its communion and 84 families, when he consented 
to take charge of it. After preaching eighteen years in the old 
church, he succeeded finally in inducing his people to build a new 
one, the present building — sufficiently commodious and convenient 
for all who desire to attend the services in it, at least at the pre- 
sent time. 

The present writer preached his funeral sermon, and afterward 
gave in Corwin's Manual the following as his conception of what 
the man was, what he deserved to be esteemed, and how he had 
labored in the Gospel for so many years. 

During his long and faithful pastorate at Millstone he main- 
tained his influence and his standing unto the end. He was 
a man of m;my excellences; kind, social, unaffected, and 
sincerely and zealously pious, a gentleman of the old school, 
simple in his tastes, unostentatious in his life, and unsophisticated 



282 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



in his daily conduct. All who knew him loved him, and those 
who knew him best loved him most. 

He was one of the most laborious and successful pastors in 
Somerset County. He preached and lectured more, visited more 
families, and attended more carefully to all his public duties, 
than almost any minister of his time. He was considered by all 
an example not only, but also a monitor, in his official life. 

His talents were good. His mind was more judicious, solid, and 
safe than brilliant or endowed with genius. He was a wise man, 
a sensible man, a man to be depended on. His counsel was 
always judicious, and no one ever erred much in following it. 
Hence, he himself made no mistakes of importance, had no con- 
troversies ; and, while his friends were numerous, his enemies 
belonged to those whom his principles and his holy life necessarily 
brought in contact of opposition to him. 

He was an excellent preacher ; and though he seldom wrote his 
sermons, they were solid, sensible, full of evangelical thought, and 
listened to with profit by all the earnest-hearted and godly in his 
congregation. His knowledge of the Gospel was full, distinctive, 
and clear; and when he had discussed any one of its doctrines, 
his hearers felt that they had had very important matters brought 
to their consideration, in a way which was calculated both to im- 
press their minds and edify their hearts. Few men could speak 
more judiciously and appropriately from the impulse of the 
moment, on any ordinary subject, than he did. Often there was 
a neatness, terseness, and directness which made his discourse 
highly pleasing ; always he was edifying and instructive. 

Then he was a genial man ; and in his social intercourse could 
astonish you by his wit, his sarcasm, and even drollery. But this 
was only occasionally, and when he seemed to be carried out of 
his ordinary sphere. Habitually he was grave, thoughtful, and, 
though never reserved, by no means a facetious man. He was too 
earnest and full of thought for any trifling or levity at any time. 

His life was unstained by even a breath of evil. No one ever 
doubted his piety, or the sincerity of his admonitions, when he 
reprobated vice and reproved iniquity, for they knew his pure 
heart impelled him. 

By his simple habits and economy, while in the receipt of only 
a small stipend, he was able to accumulate a large estate and 
leave it as an inheritance to his children. This, however, resulted 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



288 



chiefly from the early possession of his own patrimony, managed 
with prudence and care, and not from any savings out of his salary. 
In a word, he was a good man, full of faith and of the Holy 
Ghost, useful in his day, lamented when he passed away ; and he 
has left a name which will have a savor of excellence for many 
generations — especially among those for whose spiritual good he 
labored, and whose fathers and mothers he was the instrument 
of bringing into the kingdom. 

He sleeps in view of the front door of his church, and his chil- 
dren have inscribed upon his monument these words : " In memory 
of John Lansing Zabriskie, born March 4th, 1779 ; died, August 
15th, 1850. For more than 50 years a minister of God : from 1811 
until his death, pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church of Mill- 
stone. Pure in life, sincere of purpose, with zeal, perseverance, 
and prudence, devoted to the service of his Master. Here amid 
the loved people of his charge, his earthly remains await the 
resurrection of the just." On his wife's monument is written : 
" Sarah Barrea, wife of Rev. J. L. Zabriskie, born May 11th, 1786 ; 
died December 21st, 1856." 

A colleague had been provided for him just before he died, but 
had not yet been installed. The Rev. John De Witt ministered 
at Millstone from 1850 to 1863, when he was chosen Professor of 
Languages in the Seminary at New-Brunswick, and was suc- 
ceeded by the present incumbent, Rev. E. Tanjore Cor win. 

In 1855, the congregation was divided, and the inhabitants on 
the east side of the river became organized as the Church of 
East-Millstone. Giles Vandewall served them for two years, 
Rev. David Cole for five years, Rev. Mr. Berger for three years, 
Rev. Mr. Phraner for two or more, and Rev. Mr. Williams is the 
present incumbent, and the church is prosperous. 



THE CHURCH OF BEDMINSTER. 

Bedminster was originally an outpost of Raritan, and the 
necessity of a church there grew out of the settlement of certain 
families of influence in that vicinity. We may mention Jacobus 
and Peter Vanderveer, Matthew Lane, Guisbert Sutphin, and 
others as among these families. The first record which remains, 



284 HISTORICAL NOTES. 

having reference to the church at Bedminster, is found in the 
Book of Minutes belonging to the church at Raritan, and is dated 
December 25th, 1758. It is in the handwriting of J. R. Harden- 
bergh, and recites that at a meeting of the consistories of North- 
Branch, Neshanic, Bedminster, Millstone, and Raritan, at the 
house of J. R. Hardenbergh, in Somerville, Dominies Leydt and 
Hardenbergh, "a proponent," beiiii? present, when it is stated, 
among other things, that the elders, Jacob Banta and Jacob Vau- 
derveer, and the deacons, Rynier Van Neste and Cornelius Lane, 
were chosen as overseers (opsienderen) for the first time in the 
congregation of Bedminster. This, then, is the first consistory, 
and this is properly the organization of the Church of Bed- 
minster. 

The next is dated December 13th, 1759, and proceeds to fix upon 
a line between Bedminster and Raritan, and states that this shall 
be the lane or line running easterly and westerly between Paulus 
Auten and Ilendrick Yan Arsdalen, provided the persons on 
either side were willing to go to Bedminster or Raritan respec- 
tively. Again, June 24th, 1759, the following j>ersons were ap- 
pointed " helpers" in the respective congregations : For Raritan, 
Cornelius Kozyne ; Bedminster, Fredrick Banta ; Millstone, Jaco- 
bus Van Arsdalen. 

In 1761, November 25th, at a meeting of the consistory of Bed- 
minster, at the house of Jacob Vanderveer, Johannes Haas and 
Jan Voorhees were admitted to communion on confession of their 
faith, and Matthew Lane by certificate. 

March 8th, 1762, Jacob Vanderveer was continued as an elder, 
and John Voorhees chosen deacon, in the place of Rynier Van 
Neste. 

December 31st, 1 7 64, Maria Folkerson, wife of Folkert Folkerson, 
Maria Woertman, wife of Jan Woertman, and Cathrine Bordt, 
wife of N. N. Bordt, were admitted, to communion on confession 
of faith, and on the 1st of April were baptized. We have gather- 
ed these items from the minute-book of the Raritan Church, in the 
handwriting of Dr. Hardenbergh. 

There are no records which enable us to determine when the 
first house of worship was built, but it was probably commenced 
that same year, or the next at furthest, making its date 1759 or 
1760. 

It was built upon land donated by Jacobus Vanderveer. It 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 285 

was a wooden structure, and stood fronting to the south on the 
same ground upon which the present church stands. The front 
door was directly opposite the pulpit, and the galleries were in the 
two ends. It was longer in front than in depth, never painted, 
but had a board ceiling and pews, and in its general appearance 
resembled the old church at Readington, after which it was pro- 
bably patterned. It stood until 1816, when it was removed to 
make way for a new building. 

The present register of baptisms dates November loth, 1801, 
when the ministry of John Schureman began, and has been con- 
tinued until the present. The "first infant baptized was Jane, 
daughter of Peter Lane ; and the same day Simon Hageman, 
John Yan Duyn, Cornelius Powelson, and Cornelius Doty had 
their children baptized. 

The history of the church of Bedminster is involved in that of 
the church of Raritan from its first organization, in 1758, to the 
close of the ministry of Theodor F. Romeyn. It had one third 
part of the services of Dr. Hardenbergh, as well as of Romeyn, 
during this period extending to 1787. Then Peter Studdiford 
supplied it, in connection with Readington, for thirteen years up 
to 1800. From the time when John Duryea resigned his call at 
Raritan he served this church, in connection with an unorganized 
body of hearers at Potterstown and White House, for a year or 
more. During all this time the most of what was done in receiv- 
ing members into the communion and choosing elders and 
deacons is to be sought for in the records of these more promi- 
nent churches. The pastors recorded, as was natural, in the Book 
of Minutes of their own churches the ministerial acts they performed 
in Bedmiuster. But the days of its pupilage were now ended. 
It had grown into prosperity scanty as the supply of spiritual 
food had been, and felt the developing energies of mature life. 
It determined to call a pastor of its own. 

The individual upon whom their choice centred was John 
Schureman, a native of New-Brunswick, a graduate of Queen's 
College, a pupil and friend of Dr. Livingston, and a descendant 
of that Schureman who came over from Holland with Theodoras 
Jacobus Frelinghuysen in 1720 as a friend, an assistant, and a 
teacher. His call was dated Nov. 13th, 1800. He w T asin the 23d 
year of his age wdien he accepted, and gave to Bedminster the 
freshness of his mind as well as his religious affections. That 



286 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



such a young man as Schureman was should be greatly admired 
and more loved in Bedminster was no more natural than it was 
necessary. His memory is yet cherished in many households, and 
his name connected with not a few. He served the church faithfully 
for six and a half years, and went on, being called, to Millstone ; 
to New- York, after being there only two years, and then to New- 
Brunswick and to an early grave in 1818, regretted by all who 
knew him. His dismission is dated May 25th, 1807. 

In July, 1808, Charles Hardenbergh was called from Warwick, 
New- York, and served until May, 1820, twelve years, and then 
went to New-York City as pastor of the church in Greenwich 
Village, and died there of yellow fever after a little more than 
a year's service. His remains were first deposited in a vault 
belonging to the church, but were subsequently removed to 
Woodlawn Cemetery, and the tablet erected to his memory 
inserted in a monument, Avhere it can yet be seen. He did a 
great work in Bedminster; a new church was built in 1817 and 
1818, a classical school founded, and the cause of education 
generally encouraged and elevated. The sermon which he 
preached at the dedication of the church, April 18th, 1818, was 
published, and remains an evidence of his scholarship as well as 
his piety. It has become exceedingly scarce. 

Charles Hardenbergh was a native of Rosendale, in the 
County of Ulster, and was a direct lineal descendant of Johannes 
Hardenbergh, the proprietor of the Hardenbergh Patent, and 
.was born about 1780. He studied under Dr. Froeligh and was 
licensed by the Classis of Paramus in 1802. He preached as a 
candidate for more than a year in several churches, and finally 
settled in 1804 in the church at Warwick. Here he was ordained 
and commenced his pastoral work. He came to Bedminster a 
comparatively young man. He had a fine presence and a nobly 
developed person. His voice was sonorous and sweet, and his 
accentuation proper, impressive, and indicative of fine taste. It 
was his habit, in discussing any point, to glide away from argu- 
ment and illustration into a strain of devotion. In this way one 
third of his sermon was in reality a prayer. The effect was 
often impressive and solemn. He was in the effects he produced 
a winning preacher. His countenance preached; and his voice 
and accentuation had as much effect as his matter. This, however, 
was always sensible and scriptural. Under his labors the 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



287 



church grew to be one of the largest and most efficient congre- 
gations in Somerset County. It was a day of weeping in Bed- 
minster when he left, and there were many who never hoped 
ever to see his like again. 

After remaining vacant for one year, the church, July, 1821, 
called the candidate Isaac Morehead Fisher. He came to Bed- 
minster in his youth, served faithfully for seventeen years, went 
away for one year, and came back to her with her second call to 
him in his hand, and died February 14th, 1840, aged 44 years. 
Mr. Fisher was a native of New- York City, and was born in 1796. 
He graduated at Columbia College 181 7, and from the Theological 
Seminary at New-Brunswick, and was licensed in 1820. Mr. 
Fisher was a zealous, earnest man, and did his work in the 
spirit of a devoted Christian man. He was a powerful and im- 
pressive preacher, highly evangelical and practical in his matter 
and in the tone in which he put it forth. In the pulpit he was 
active, full of gesture and varied in the intonations of his voice. 
He made you feel that he was in earnest and desirous of convinc- 
ing every one of his hearers. He had a military air, and his 
walk and action indicated authority, self-reliance, and command. 
Yet he was genial, social, and attractive in his familiar inter- 
course. He wrote his sermons, especially in his younger years, 
and delivered them memoriter ; hence there was freedom, fullness, 
and command of language, which became at times truly impres- 
sive. He was rigidly orthodox, and had the system of Christian 
theology fully before his mind in all his parts, and he was a man 
of many sorrows. Dr. Ferris, his classmate, said of him, " He was 
a capital theologian and a most able defender of the doctrines of 
our church. No man among us in the seminary was so familiar 
with the system of Dr. Livingston and could more intelligently 
explain and illustrate it. His critical acumen had been sharp- 
ened by the great Hopkinsian controversy, which had pervaded 
the New- York churches a few years before ; and with all its 
points, both theological and metaphysical, he had made himself at 
home. A most honest and upright man in his principles, he 
enjoyed the confidence of all who knew him, and the remarkably 
upright physical man seemed the index of the spirit within." He 
was, as we ourselves can well testify, all this. His people mourned 
him truly when they carried him to the grave. His wife had 
preceded him, and there was only one son left behind. On his 



288 



HISTOEICAL NOTES. 



tomb you read, " This tomb covers the mortal remains of Rev. 
Isaac M. Fisher and Margaret C. Martin, his wife. They departed 
this life, the former on the 14th of February, 1840, aged 44 
years ; and the latter on the 31st of March, 1838, aged 42 
years." 

Rev. J. M. Fisher was succeeded, in October, 1842, by George 
Schenck, a candidate just from the Seminary of New-Brunswick, 
who ministered to the congregation for twelve years and then 
died. He was born at Matteawan, New- York, in 1816, graduated 
at Yale College in 1837, and was licensed by the Classis of 
Poughkeepsie in 1 840. 

Mr. Schenck was ordained and installed pastor at Bedminster 
in the presence of the Classis of New-Brunswick, then in session, 
December 25th, 1840. Rev. J. C. Sears, of Six-Mile Run, preached 
the sermon. Rev. Dr. Messier, of Somerville, gave the charge 
to the pastor, and the Rev. J. K. Campbell, of North-Branch, the 
charge to the people. 

Rev. George Schenck, when he assumed this extensive charge, 
was just from the seminary, a man in feeble health and lame; 
but he proved himself one of the most efficient pastors. He was a 
small man in stature, but not in mind or in temperament. A 
friend characterizes him as " an humble, meek, and fervent Chris- 
tian, marked by more than an ordinary degree of spirituality, 
yet of a lively disposition, of a ready wit, and a foe to sanctimo- 
niousness. He was a man of unbending integrity, and strictly 
conscientious in all his sentiments. He possessed great acti- 
vity and perseverance. His small and diseased frame con- 
tained as brave and resolute a spirit as ever came from the 
Almighty's hand. He had warm sympathies and great tender- 
ness of feeling, and was devoted in his work. He spoke the 
whole truth with faithfulness and pungency, not fearing the 
face of man. Yet his fidelity was unmixed with harshness. 
The love of souls glowed in his heart and the law of kindness 
was on his lips. With a good intellect and habits of study his 
public services were instructive and interesting." 

The following is the inscription on his tomb : " Sacred to the 
memory of Rev. George Schenck, born January 27th, 1816, died 
July 7th, 1S52. He was pastor of this church eleven years." His 
health had been enfeebled, but he died suddenly. He was suc- 
ceeded by Rev. William Brush in September, 1852, who served 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



289 



the congregation thirteen years and resigned December, 1865. 
He is now pastor of the church of Fordham, New- York. The pre- 
sent pastor, the Rev. Charles H. Pool, was installed over the 
congregation in July, 1866. 

In connection with Bedminster it is natural to think of Rev. 
Robert J. Blair, who was born and educated within the precincts, 
of the congregation, and died and is interred in the graveyard at- 
tached to the church. He was the son of John J. Blair, Esq., of 
the Cross Roads, and born December 8th, 1800. His classical 
learning was obtained at the academy near the church, of which 
he was principal for a time. He taught some time in Accomac 
County, Virginia, on the eastern shore ; studied theology in the 
seminary at New-Brunswick, and was licensed by the Classis 
of New-Brunswick, in 1823. He served as a domestic mis- 
sionary until 1825 at Princetown, Guilderland, and Salem, in 
Albany County, was settled in Helderburgh from 1825 to 1830. 
His health failed him, and he went first to Georgia, then to the 
Island of St. Thomas, West-Indies, but returned to his native place 
a confirmed invalid, and died January 19th, 1858. 

" He is remembered," writes a friend, " for his eminently con- 
sistent life as a Christian, and as a minister of Christ ; for the 
evangelical character of his preaching, and his zeal. Meek and 
inoffensive as he was, few men have been more faithful in the dis- 
charge of pastoral duty, preaching the Gospel by the wayside, 
and from house to house. Few men have been more willing to 
speak to their fellow-men for their good, and for the honor of the 
Master. 

" It pleased God that he should glorify him by patient suffering, 
often intense, for many years. But few of his friends at the time 
of his death ever knew him as a well man. He was for weeks to- 
gether the welcome guest of many families, in different parts of 
New-York and New- Jersey, which still retain the sweet savor of his 
godly example and pious conversation. His latter years were 
spent in Bedminster, where he finally fell asleep." R. D. V. K. 

The writer of these sketches preached his funeral sermon, in the 
village of Pluckemin at the house of the lady — a cousin — who 
nursed him and cared for him until he died — from 2 Timothy 4 : 6, 7. 
On his tombstone is engraved, " Rev. Robert J. Blair. Died Jan 
uary 19, 1858, aged 61 years, 8 months, and 11 days." 



290 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



LEBANON— ROCKAW AY IN LEBANON. 

The church at Lebanon has a twofold history — first as a 
German Reformed, and second as a Dutch Reformed Church. 
Originally it was formed out of German emigrants, who are said 
to have come from the vicinity of Halberstadt, in Saxony. They 
left their native land in 1705, and removed, in the first instance, 
to Neuweid, on the Rhine. From thence they came to Holland ; 
and in 1707 sailed for America, intending to land at New- Am- 
sterdam, or New-York, and to settle among the Hollanders either 
in New-York or New-Jersey. But adverse winds finally brought 
them to the mouth of Delaware Bay, and to the city of Philadel- 
phia. Fully bent still on their original purpose, they set forth to 
reach their intended destination by land. Traveling up through 
Pennsylvania, they crossed the Delaware at New-Hope and Lam- 
bertsville, and by "the old York road" came to Ringoes, in 
Hunterdon County, and thence to Lebanon Yalley and German 
Valley. Not probably all at the same time, or all in the same 
company, but from time to time, others following on in the foot- 
steps of the first pioneers. 

The first unquestioned documentary notice which we have of a 
colony of Germans settled in that part of our State is from the 
journal of the Rev. Michael Schlatter, a missionary sent by the 
Classis of Amsterdam to the Germans in Pennsylvania. Under date 
July, 1747, he says, "When I had safely arrived at home on the 
3d, I found a very earnest and moving letter written by several 
congregations in the Province of New-Jersey, viz., at Rockaway, 
Fox-hill, and Amwell, in the region of the Raritan, distant about 
seventy miles from Philadelphia. They urge me with the strongest 
motives, — yea, they pray me for God's sake, to come over and pay 
them a visit, that I may administer to them the Lord's Supper, 
and by baptism incorporate their children with the church, who 
have already during three or more years remained without 
baptism." 

" Rockaway" mentioned in this extract, was the first name of 
what is now " the Reformed Church of Lebanon." Amwell, after 
having been sustained as a German Reformed Church for seventy 
years, became a Presbyterian Church, and Dr. Kirkpatrick minis- 
tered in it half a century and more, and Fox-hill is now the 
Presbyterian Church in German Valley, unless, perhaps, we 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



291 



should say it is a church of the Presbyterian order by itself. 
Mr. Schlatter continues, " On the 13th, I undertook the journey to 
the three congregations in New-Jersey, from which I had, on the 
3d of July, received a most friendly and pressing invitation to 
meet them. On the 14th, after a journey of sixty miles, I came to 
Rockaway. Here I received twenty young persons into the church 
as members, after they had made a profession of their faith ; 
preached a preparatory sermon on the 15th, and on the following 
day administered the Holy Supper in a small church to an at- 
tentive and reverent assembly." 

He went next day to Fox-hill and performed the same services, 
and then preached what he calls " a thanksgiving sermon after 
the communion." On the 20th he returned to his home in Phila- 
delphia, "joyful in heart and giving thanksgiving to God for the 
support which he had rendered me." He adds, "I cannot re- 
frain from referring, briefly, to the fact that these three congrega- 
tions, from gratitude for the services I had rendered them, handed 
me a pecuniary reward ; and this was the first money which, 
since my arrival in America up to this time, I have received from 
any congregation for my labor and pains." Certainly it is well 
that he recorded this in their praise. 

We have, then, this important guiding historical fact, that in 
1747 the inhabitants of Lebanon had built for themselves "a 
small church," in which they worshiped the God of their fathers 
according to their German Protestant faith. Whatever previous 
members there may have been, now they had an addition of 
twenty to the number. This house, no doubt, stood in the old 
burying-ground, and was antecedent to the old Rockaway Church, 
in which Caspar Wack, until the year 1809, preached and admi- 
nistered the Holy Sacrament. 

Michael Schlatter, the first missionary to the Pennsylvania 
Germans, was born at St. Gall, in Switzerland, July 14th, 1716. 
He received a portion of his early education at Helmstadt, in the 
Duchy of Brunswick, but was fully educated and admitted into 
the ministerial office in Holland about 1 745. He was soon after 
commissioned by the Synods of North and South-Holland a 
missionary to the Germans in Pennsylvania, and sailed on his 
mission on the 1st of June, 1746. He landed at Boston earl^ in 
August, went thence to New- York, and thence to Philadelphia. 
Boston contained at that time, according to his estimate, about 



292 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



3000 houses, and was the largest city in the colonies. New-York 
had only about 2000. Philadelphia had seven streets running 
north and .south, and seven running east and west, and about 
10,000 inhabitants, and was the second city in the English posses- 
sions in North- America. 

Pie made his home in Philadelphia, and became pastor of the 
German Reformed church in the city, in connection with another 
at Germantown. He was, however, rather a traveling missionary 
generally among the Germans in Pennsylvania, visiting them in 
their towns, and organizing churches as he found materials in 
their various settlements. He is, indeed, thi father of the German 
Reformed Church in the United States of our day. He finally 
organized the churches which he had planted into a Coetus, and 
went to Holland and Germany in 1751, and secured for them 
£20,000 in money and 700 Bibles ; and £20,000 in addition were 
given him. by George II. of England and his nobility. He died at 
Barren Hill, near Philadelphia, in 1790, full of years and honors, 
a good man, full of zeal and piety. 

Schlatter visited the churches in New-Jersey again in June, 
1788, and administered the Iloly Sacrament, and again the third 
time on the 11th and 12th of October, the same year, and still a 
fourth time from the 22d to the 27th of May, 1749, and a filth 
and last time in June, 1750, the same year that John Frelinghuy- 
sen came to settle at Karitan. 

None of the churches in New-Jersey, it would appear, received 
any part of the money which was brought from Europe ; for 
Schlatter reported that they were " able themselves to provide 
properly for the support of a minister, and also willing, with 
great cheerfulness, to do it ;" and added, before the Synod of 
North-Holland, that Fox-hill, , together with Rockaway, "im- 
plores earnestly that God may at length send forth a faithful 
laborer into this harvest." 

This prayer was soon answered in the coming of a pastor. The 
first permanent minister of the Church of Rockaway, in connec- 
tion with German Valley, was John Conrad Wirtz, He was a 
native of Switzerland, born in Zurich. He had emigrated to 
Pennsylvania before Schlatter came, and had been preaching with- 
out ordination somewhere in the vicinity of Easton. He appealed 
to Schlatter to ordain him ; but failing to obtain his consent, ap- 
plied to the Presbytery of New-Brunswick, and was ordained by 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



293 



them in 1752. He had been preaching in the churches of Rocka- 
way and German Valley two years before he was in this way 
admitted to the pastoral office. His memory has passed away 
almost completely from the present living, and the only tradition 
that has been given of him is in reference to his having preached 
at Rockaway that " marriage was a sacrament" in the sense of* 
the Romish Church, a doctrine not received by the people. 

In 1762, after ministering to the churches of Rockaway and 
German Valley for twelve years, he removed to York, in Pennsyl- 
vania. There his name is remembered, and " has the savor of 
his having been a good and pious minister." 

In the mean time, Rev. William Kails, who had been set- 
tled in Philadelphia, and had supplied Amwell from 1757 to 
1759, seems to have preached occasionally, at least in the 
Rockaway Church. Then came Caspar Michael Stapel; then 
John Westley Gilbert ISTevelling, also from Amwell, gave an 
occasional service to the destitute church ; then Frederick Dalli- 
ker had Lebanon in connection with German Valley, Alexander, 
and Foxenburg, (Foxhill.) His services extended from 1770 to 
1782. In 1782, Caspar Wack entered upon the pastoral charge 
of Rockaway, in connection with German Valley and Foxhill, and 
served these three churches until the year ] 809, when he removed 
to Whitemarsh, Pa., where he died in 1839. He was a native- 
born American. His father emigrated from Wittenberg, Ger- 
many, to Philadelphia in 1748. Caspar Wack was born August 
]5th, 1752, and studied under Dr. Weybergh. Pie is represented 
as displaying in early life remarkable talents, and as having had 
" numerous" calls offered to him for his services when he was 
only eighteen years of age. His licensure was deferred to obtain 
the consent of the classis in Holland, to which all the German 
churches acknowledged subjection. He was invited to come over 
to Holland, and promised a free passage, but he declined to at- 
tempt this. In 1771, when he was nineteen years of age, he was 
examined and licensed as a candidate by the Coetus, as is evident 
from the following minute : " Mr. Wack was examined in the 
truths of God's word and as to the way of salvation, and, having 
rendered full satisfaction to the reverend Coetus, it was resolved 
that he should continue to catechise and preach in these congrega- 
tions [Tohicken, Indianfield, and Great Swamp,] as heretofore. 
His ordination, however, shall be deferred, for the present, till 
the reverend fathers [the classis] have been consulted in regard 
19 



294 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



to the matter, and what they advise shall hereafter be done in 
regard to Mr. Wack." This permission was soon afterward re- 
ceived, and, although the date of his ordination is not known, it 
took place, no doubt, soon after this date. He was the first young 
man of American birth who received license and ordination in 
the German Reformed Church in America. He seems to have 
labored at Rockaway from 1782 to 1789. A call is extant ad- 
dressed to him as " present preacher of the Valley and Foxhill," 
dated 1786. He is represented as a man of great activity, wit, 
and resources, preaching in his early days entirely in German, 
but in time coming into the use of the English in his public ser- 
vices. What kind of English it really was may, perhaps, be suffi- 
ciently learned from a remark of an English officer who went to 
•hear him, and came home very well pleased, saying he never 
knew before that the German language w T as so much like the 
English. He was, in fact, farmer, music-master, and preacher, all 
in one, and the young people enjoyed his evening singing-schools 
greatly. He left behind him a name fragrant with many genial, 
kindly, pleasant, and' holy memories. He went, in 1809, to the 
•churches of Whitemarsh and Germantown, in Pennsylvania, and 
•died there at the house of his son, Dr. Philip Wack, July 19th, 
1S39, being eighty-seven years old, lacking seven days. 

We have had furnished to us a copy of the inscription on his 
tomb. It is in the following words : " The Rev. Caspar Wack, 
who departed this life the 19th July, a.d. 1839, aged eighty-seven k 
years." 

The register of baptisms for the Rockaway church is dated, on 
1768, the title-page, August 5th. 1 762. The first entry is November 
6th, and it is continued in the same handwriting until September 
27th, 1784. Some of the first records seem to be wanting. On 
November 6th, 1768, Peter Ebcher and Cathrine his wife had a 
■child named Johannis baptized. The next names are Hanis 
Rothenbach and Anna Bikel, August 27th ; the next, Pieter 
Bothersfield and his w T ife Cathrine ; then Pieter Hofman and 
Anna Sharpenstein ; then occur the names of Conrad Kreuger, 
Peter Ops, Adam Hochenbach, William Becker, Adam Humer, 
Nicholas Linenburgh, Balthes Henderschot, Adam Epcher, Cor- 
•nelis Lair, Peter Law, Christian Diltz, Wilem Schurz, Arian 
Deneik, Nicolas Kramer, Hanes Ohlbach, Michel Schenk, and 
Wilem Eich. These names represent some of the earliest families 
^belonging to this church. The record, after it commences, is, 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



295 



apparently, quite complete, and manifests both attention and 
care. In subsequent pages we should, no doubt, find all the 
names peculiar to this part of our State, but we can not continue 
the quotation, and proceed to note some of its subsequent for- 
tunes. It was, in some measure, isolated by its language and 
lineage, and a change in its relations became imperious. It felt 
this, and soon sought it. 

September 11th, 1788, the church became incorporated under 
an act of the Legislature, and the names of the trustees are as 
follows, namely, George Gearheart, president, Peter Aller, Jacob 
Gearhart, John Hufman, Peter Himry, Peter Young, and Hans 
Peter Apger. The elections are regularly recorded in subsequent 
years, for a long period of time. 

In 1 793, moneys were collected on a subscription list to repair 
the church edifice. There is also, subsequently, another subscrip- 
tion list put on record of names giving various sums for the same 
purpose, among which occurs, at the head of the list, the name 
of Caspar Wack for $13.33. In 1816, the old church was taken 
down, and a new brick house erected in its place. This was 
superseded by the present commodious edifice. 

After Lebanon became a vacant church by the removal of Mr. 
Wack, supplies from the German source began to be increasingly 
difficult of attainment. The church stood there many Sabbaths 
in its silent loneliness. The German, as a language, had passed 
away almost entirely from among the people, and the question 
arose, why not seek another connection, and obtain preaching 
from another source ? The White Houes church was new and 
comparatively weak, struggling to maintain itself under the minis- 
try of its first pastor, Cornelius T. Demarest. Overtures of union 
were made and accepted in 1813 ; but just before the union had 
been consummated, Mr. Demarest left, and accepted a call from 
the English Neighborhood, Bergen County. His absence, how- 
ever, did not prevent the future consummation of the contem- 
plated union. The two congregations united, September 29th, 
1816, in a call on the candidate Jacob J. Schultz, and he was or- 
dained and installed pastor, November 26th, 1816, of the two 
combined churches. He decided to make Lebanon the place of 
his residence, and, consequently, it was to the Lebanon church 
that the larger part of his pastoral services were rendered, but he 
preached on alternate Sabbaths in either place. Here he spent 



296 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



eighteen years of his earlier life, beloved, useful, and doing an 
efficient work. A new church was built soon after he came ; the 
people were carefully catechized and taught, and sought to be 
trained effectually in every Christian duty. Few men labored 
more diligently and successfully, and saw better results from 
their labors, than he did at White House and Lebanon. 

Jacob J. Shultz was born at Rhinebeck, 1792, of parents who 
had originally emigrated from the Palatinate. He graduated at 
Union College, 1813, and from the seminary at New-Brunswick 
in 1816, being licensed as a candidate, by the Classis of New- 
Brunswick, in May. In the autumn of the same year he received 
a call from the churches of White House and Lebanon, and was 
settled there. His intellectual faculties were good. He had evi- 
dently a consciousness of power in him, and spoke with dignity 
and authority. He was an effective preacher, never using notes 
or reading his sermons from manuscript. He studied his text, 
analyzed it, broke it up into its logical divisions, and then he dis- 
cussed them, trusting for the proper words to flow in upon him 
from the impulse of the moment. He preached well ; intelligent 
minds felt themselves instructed and edified by his discourses. 
He gathered large audiences in his churches — probably the largest 
ever convened in them; he did good. The accessions to the 
churches were numerous, and he was literally and truly a pros- 
perous and successful minister. But disease had begun early to 
prey upon his system ; he had turns of melancholy ; he lost, at 
times, almost the control of his faculties. He went to Middle- 
bush. The change did not benefit him. He grew worse, and had 
to abandon what he loved as his life, the preaching of the Gos- 
pel. He died at Micldlebush, October 22d, 1852. He had been 
disabled from public service since 1838 by constitutional infirmi- 
ties and disease. 

The memory of Jacob J. Shultz at Lebanon and at Whiiehouse 
will long be cherished by those to whom his ministry was blessed. 
He was an earnest man ; he did his work in the spirit of his Mas- 
ter, and gained many converts to the truth. 

After Shultz had left Lebanon the connection with Whitehouse 
ceased, and in 1835 the church called Rev. Charles P. Wack, a 
grandson of Rev. Conrad Wack, to be their pastor. He com- 
menced his services May 18th; his first record of baptism is Sep- 
tember 28th, 1835. He continued to serve them for five years; 
then went to Trenton, for four years, to a German Reformed 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



297 



church, which he induced to unite with the Classis of New- 
Brunswick. Then he himself passed over into a connection with 
the German Reformed Church, but finally returned to Lebanon 
and died September 29th, 1866. He was a student of the semi- 
nary at New-Brunswick, and received his license in 1829. He 
was a good preacher and a man of considerable learning. He 
understood the Gospel, and preached it with discrimination and 
clearness ; but certain eccentricities of character hindered his suc- 
cess as a pastor. That he was a good man no one doubted who 
really knew him; and that, with a little more of "the wisdom of 
the serpent," he might have done great good, was equally clear. 
He was an able man in the pulpit, and when he preached he 
knew only Christ Jesus and him crucified. The inscription on 
his tomb reads, "Rev. Charles P. Wack. Died September 29th, 
1866, aged fifty-nine years two months and twenty-one days. 

" Suddenly his work was closed ; 

'Twas sufficient here. 
He was summoned to a service 

In a higher sphere, 
And the pearly gates unfolded 

To admit him there." 

Lebanon was served by Rev. Robert Van Amburgh from 1840 
to 1848 ; by Rev. John Steele from 1848 to 1853 ; by Van Am- 
burgh, the second time, from 1853 to 1869, and by Van Benscho- 
ten, from 1S69 to 1872. 

The congregation have recently repaired their church edifice — 
originally built in 1854 — and beautified it. It is now one of the 
most attractive and commodious churches in the county. There 
is a large and wealthy congregation worshiping in it, and it 
ought to prosper abundantly. 



WHITE HOUSE, ROCK A WAY. 

The church was originally formed out of persons who had 
been connected with Readington, with a few families from Bed- 
minster, a few from the Presbyterian church at Leamington, and 
also a few from the Lutheran church at New-Germantown. It is 
first spoken of in the minutes of Synod in 1793 as a place in 
which religious services were rendered, and called Potterstown. 



298 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



John Duryea rendered a part service _ there, from" 1800 to 1801, 
preaching in the barn of Abraham Van Horn. John Schureman 
attended a catechetical class within the bounds of the congrega- 
tion while he was at Bedminster. The church at White House was 
formally organized in 1792, as becomes evident from the following 
extract from the minutes of consistory: January 10th, 1792. The 
committee from the Rev. Classis met at the house of Mr. Abraham 
Van Horn, together with the members in full communion of the 
neighborhood of the White Bouse, and, being opened with prayer 
by the Rev. John Duryea, proceeded to the choice of a consistory, 
when the following persons were chosen, namely, Cornelius Wyc- 
koff and Aaron Lane as elders, and Henry Traphagen and George 
Covenhoven as deacons. Concluded with prayer by the Rev. 
John M. Van Harlingen. 

In consistory at the house of Cornelius Wyckoff the following 
persons were received, on confession of their faith, as members of 
the congregation, namely, Abraham Van Horn, Matthew Lane, 
John Wyckoff, Cornelius Wyckoff, Jr., Garthy Wyckoff, wife of 
Abraham Van Horn, Cathrme Sutten, wife of John Wyckoff, 
Altie Cowenhoven, wife of Matthew Lane. Concluded with prayer. 
— John Duryea. These were the first members in communion. 

September 8th, 1795, the following were elected elders and 
deacons in the place of those first chosen, namely, George Cowen- 
hoven and John Wyckoff, elders, and Abraham Van Horn and 
Cornelius Wyckoff, deacons. Concluded with prayer. — John 
Duryea, V.D.M. 

January 19th, 1796, received on confession of their faith, Wil- 
liam Van Horn and Cornelia Wyckoff. 

March loth, 1796, received on confession, Lidia Burnet, wife of 
George Covenhoven, Elizabeth Van Horn, wife of William Van 
Horn. 

May 10th, 1800, Abraham Ten Eyck and the following elected in 
consistory, namely, Abraham Van Horn and Abraham Van Doren, 
elders ; Matthew Lane and William Van Horn, deacons. Closed 
with prayer.' — John Duryea, V.D.M. 

April 2d, 1802, the following were chosen for consistory: Cor- 
nelius Wyckoff and Abraham Van Horn, elders ; Abraham Ten 
Eyck, deacon ; and they were ordained June 27th, 1802, by Rev. 
James S. Cannon. 

There were meetings of consistory August 25th, 1804, presided 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



299 



over by Rev. William R. Smith; August 31st, 1805, and August 
20th, 1808, by John S. Vredenburgh ; October 14th, 1806, by Ira 
Condit ; and July 8th, 1808, by James S. Camion. 

At length the church had so increased that they proceeded to 
settle a pastor, and the choice fell upon Cornelius T. Demarest, a 
student of Dr. Froeligh, but a native of the city of New- York. 
The call is dated August 2d, 1808, and he was ordained and in- 
stalled pastor by Rev. John S. Vredenburgh, Rev. Henry Pol- 
hemus, and Rev. Peter Studdeford. 

The principal families besides the names already mentioned 
were, Dennis Wyckofl*, Nicholas Stilwell, Abraham Ten Eyck, 
Andrew Ten Eyck, Cornelius Messier, John Ditmars, William 
Ditmars, Jacob Xeff, Matthew Rulofson, John Vanderbilt, John 
Reger, and others. 

In 1807, a church edifice was erected and partly finished — that 
is, it had a roof, weather-boarding, and floor, but neither pews, 
pulpit, or ceiling. The seats consisted of boards resting- on 
timbers on the floor. In this condition C. T. Demarest preached 
in it for several years. He was the first pastor. He came to White 
House immediately on receiving his license, and continued for 
five years. It may be said that he really gathered and established 
the church. He was admired as a preacher, and extensively 
popular — a faithful, earnest, zealous man ; and he did a great 
deal of good during the time that he labored among the people. He 
preached the Gospel with discrimination, perhaps rather in a con- 
troversial strain and spirit; at all events, he was fond of debate, 
and sometimes dealt with his adversary with marked severity. 
It may have been necessary in his 'estimation to adopt such a 
strain of preaching, since the materials out of which the church 
had been formed were a little heterogeneous in their character. 
He was himself a rigid Calvinist, and could not endure lax views 
in any form. He left the church with almost universal regret, 
and was remembered by many with all the fondness of first 
love. 

The church remained vacant for more than two years, and 
finally called the candidate Jacob J. Schultz, in connection with 
Lebanon. After Schultz left, in 1834, Peter S. Williamson, a 
student just licensed from the seminary, was called. He accepted, 
and was ordained and installed in 1835, and continued to preach 
for the people four years, resigning in 1849, and becoming a mis- 



300 



HISTORICAL NOTES 



sionary in Brooklyn; then teaching at Schoharie, Belleville, and 
Jamaica, Long Island, and finally emigrating to California in 
1852, where he still resides. 

After Rev. P. S. Williamson had resigned, Rev. James Otter- 
son accepted the call and ministered to the people for five years, 
when he resigned and went to the Presbyterian church at Johns- 
town, New-York. His ministry was vigorous, and resulted in 
good. He was born in the city of New- York, 1791, graduated at 
Columbia College, 1806; studied theology with Dr. John M. 
Mason, and was licensed by the Associate Reform Church in 
1821. He was of Scotch parentage, and had most of its peculiari- 
ties. He succeeded Dr. Alexander Proudfit in the church of Broad 
Albin. He came into the Dutch Church at first by a call from 
the churches of Oyster Bay and North-Hempstead, Long Island, 
in 1829, and to White House from Freehold, New-Jersey, where 
he had been settled three years. It is said of him, " he possessed 
a clear and analytic mind, which showed the effect of early 
culture. He was a good scholar, a sound and able theologian, 
and very instructive and edifying as a preacher. His style of 
sermonizing was clear and forcible. His speech flowed smoothly 
from his lips, as he touched the heart and reached the conscience. 
He was an able expounder of the divine word. In the ecclesias- 
tical assemblies of the church he had few superiors. It was 
not merely as a parliamentarian, or as one skilled in debnte, that 
he excelled, but as possessing a strong practical mind that could 
lead the way through difficult and perplexing questions; that 
could see the end to be reached, and how to reach it." He died 
in the city of Brooklyn in 1869. 

Goyn Talmage, just from the seminary, was called in 1845, 
and ordained and installed as successor to Otterson. He did a 
grand work at White House. The church had run down, needed 
repairs — in fact, removal and a new edifice ; and he accomplished 
this important work successfully. Under his active ministry, the 
church waked up, and did more to secure future prosperity than 
had been done at any time before. But he left, after six years, to 
the regret of all his friends. 

He was succeeded by Lawrence L. Comfort, also a student 
from the seminary at New-Brunswick ; and was ordained and 
installed in 1852, but only remained for two years, when he was 
called to New-Hurley, New-York, where he is still ministering. 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



301 



Then the church called Rev. Aaron Lloyd, in 1855 ; and he 
remained only one year, when he went to Pekin, Illinois. 

The next pastor was Rev. Smith Sturges, who preached at 
White House until 1867, and resigned. 

The Rev. William Bailey was called in 1868, and remains the 
successful pastor. The congregation under his ministry is grow- 
ing, and promising to become a compact, energetic, and respec- 
table church. 

White House is not in Somerset County, nor is Lebanon ; and 
yet they have both always been so intimately connected with the 
churches of the county, that we did not feel inclined to disassociate 
them. Hence, they have a place in these notes of the Somerset 
churches. They are one with us in spirit, if not absolutely within 
the limits of the territory of the county. They have been so 
long associated with the other churches that it would seem, in 
some re>pects, invidious to deny 'them a place in our memo- 
rial. 

It only remains for us now to name the other churches in the 
order in which their organization has been effected. They have 
grown, in almost every instance, out of the territory first included 
in the older congregations, and owe their existence to the desire 
of the people to have the services of the Sabbath nearer to their 
residences, and to be able more conveniently to attend on them. 
They have been from the beginning, in nearly every instance, 
self-sustaining churches. Hence, they came into existence because 
it was proper for them to do so, and not from disaffection or 
partisan strife. 



THE RECENTLY-FORMED CHURCHES. 

The new churches in Somerset County can hardly be said to 
have a history, and yet we are not disposed to deny them a place 
in our memorial notes. We give to each at least the date of its 
organization and the succession of pastors, in the order in which 
these events have occurred and are recorded in their records. 



302 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



1. North-Branch. — This church was organized September 10th, 

1825, at the house of James Ten Eyck, by a committee from the 
Classis of New-Brunswick, out of families mostly belonging to the 
old church of Raritan. During the great revival in 1821 and 1822, 
religious services had been frequently held in the vicinity of Bay- 
ley's Mills, on the North-Branch. One large concourse, consist- 
ing of more than 1000 people, is especially remembered in the 
barn of Mr. Abraham Dumont, at which Rev. Messrs. Schultz ? 
Fisher, Studdiford, and Osborne were all present, and took part 
in the services. The great awakening of attention to religion, no 
doubt, occasioned the want of church services to be felt in that 
vicinity, and brought about the organization of the church, after 
an application duly made to the Classis of New-Brunswick, and 
at once a church edifice was begun to be built. George H. Fisher, 
a licentiate of the Seminary, was called and settled November 25th, 

1826, as soon as the church edifice, finished that year, was pre- 
pared for the services. He preached to the people during four 
years' labor, and proved himself a successful pastor. Upon his 
removal, the Rev. Abraham D. Wilson w r as called, September 17th, 
1831, and remained until 1838. He was succeeded in October of 
the same year by Rev. James K. Campbell, who ministered until 
1854, more than 15 years. In 1856, Philip Melancthon Doolittle 
w r as settled, and still continues the successful pastor of a prospe- 
rous church. 

The first consistory was composed of Jacob Ten Eyck, John 
Vanderveer, John Runk, and Abraham Quick, Sen., as elders, and 
Ralf Van Pelt, Matthew Van Pelt, James Staats, and James Ten 
Eyck, deacons. 

The first church edifice was built in 1826, the year after the 
organization was effected. It Avas built of brick, after the pattern 
of the Somerville Church, and in dimension was 40 feet by 52. 
The corner-stone was laid without ceremonies, and whether it was 
ever formally dedicated is not known. It stood, and continued to 
be the place of worship until 1863, when it was taken down and 
gave place to the present commodious edifice. The resolution to 
rebuild was passed August 20th, 1863, and it was dedicated by a 
sermon from Rev. G. H. Fisher, the first pastor, 1864. The congre- 
gation, during the forty-seven years of its existence, has increased, 
until it is now an efficient church. It is remarkable that all its 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



303 



pastors are yet among the living. It numbers 116 families and 
l'ZO communicants. 

2. Blawenbukg. — The first movement toward the organiza- 
tion of this church took place October 1st, 1829, when Cornelius 
Kershow, Peter Voorhees, Ralf Johnson, and John A. Voorhees 
appeared before the Consistory of Harlingen, in behalf of them- 
selves and fifty subscribers in the district of Blawenburg, and 
applied to the consistory for permission to erect a house for 
public worship, to be styled the Second Reformed Dutch Church 
of Harlingen. This application was cheerfully granted. At a 
subsequent meeting, in November, the following building com- 
mittee was appointed, namely, Peter A. Voorhees, Colonel Joseph 
Duryea, Ralf Johnson, John A. Voorhees, and John Van Zandt. 
On the 31st of May, 1S30, they reported that their house of wor- 
ship was so nearly completed as to be ready for dedication at any 
time. It was resolved to invite Rev. Dr. Milledoler, of the Theo- 
logical Seminary at New-Brunswick, to perform that service on 
Saturday, the 14th inst. The invitation was accepted, and on the 
day appointed, after sermon, he solemnly set apart the house to 
the service of Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 

February 2d, 1832, upon application of the people worshiping 
in the above congregation, to be organized into a separate and 
distinct church, and to be discharged from their relation to the 
church at Harlingen, the pastor, Rev. Peter Labagh, and Peter 
Skillman were appointed a committee to grant dismissions to 
those who might apply. On the 2d of March, 1832, a number of 
the male members with their certificates assembled, according to 
previous notice, in the church at Blawenburg, and after earnest 
supplication for the Divine presence and blessing, a separate and 
distinct church was regularly organized, a consistory chosen, and 
arrangements made for their ordination. At this meeting the 
Rev. Peter Labagh and the elder Abraham Skillman acted as a 
committee from the consistory of Harlingen ; and Bernardus Van 
Zandt, William Duryea, Abram Sutphin, George Sorter, Samuel 
Terhune, Thomas Davis, Cort Williamson, Henry Terhune, Joseph 
A. Skillman, Henry Skillman, John Van Zandt, William D. Van 
Dyke, Peter Sutphin, Peter Voorhees, represented the people of 
Blawenburg. The consistory elected consisted of Henry Skill- 
man, John Van Zandt, William Cruser, and Joseph A. Skillman, 



304 



HISTOKICAL NOTES. 



elders, and Henry Duryea, Peter Voo-rhees, Thomas Davis, and 
Samuel Terhune, deacons. 

The earliest records are dated July 26th, 1831, and speak of 
the consistory of the Second Church of Harlingen meeting in the 
consistory chamber at Blawenburg, and of the corporate name 
of the church being changed to be the Reformed Dutch Church 
of Blawenburg. 

The Rev. Henry Heermance was the first pastor. He was called 
in 1832, and served the people three years. He was succeeded 
by Rev. James R. Talmage in 1837, who remained until 1849. 
The same year, T. B. Romeyn was called and ordained, and served 
until 1865. He was succeeded by Charles W. Fritts the same 
year, and he in 1870 by W. B. Voorhees. 

Of Henry Heermance, who has ceased from among the liv- 
ing, we may say a very few words. He was born at Nassau, 
N. Y., 1801, graduated at Union College in 1826, studied in the 
Seminary at New-Brunswick, and was licensed by the classis in 
1826. After a short settlement at Oyster Bay, Long Island, and 
a missionary term of service at Sandbeach, 1ST. Y., he came to 
Blawenburg and served faithfully for three years. Preaching 
afterward for a year in 1855-6 at Kinderhook, he died in 1846. 
He was the subject of religious impressions during a revival in 
Nassau, N. Y., and retained ever afterward more or less of 
a revival spirit. It has been written of him that " he had a com- 
prehensive and well-balanced judgment up to the point where 
feeling becomes enlisted, when his honest ardor somewhat blinded 
him to remote results. His sensibilities were unusually keen, but 
they never prompted retaliation, nor had they any tincture of resent- 
ment. His energy was great, and his purpose indomitable. Hence, 
when his sphere of action was limited, and his mode of action de- 
fined, as was the case with his agencies, his executive efficiency 
was of the very highest order. As a preacher, he was solemn, 
affectionate, earnest, pungent, and lucid. His style was senten- 
tious, and his appeals direct and forcible. His general mode of 
preaching was to arouse the conscience, at times producing the 
greatest manifestations of awe even among Christians, and writh- 
ings, under a sight and sense of their condition, among sinners. 
Yet he was not deficient in abilities to depict the beauties of holi- 
ness, and the grace and truth that came by Jesus Christ. He was 
stricken down by apoplexy in the midst of his days, just as he was 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



305 



resolving and entering on enlarged plans of usefulness." His 
labors at Blawenburg were highly appreciated. He established 
the church, he gathered into her communion many valuable 
members, and left many regrets when he went elsewhere. 

Blawenburg is now a nourishing church, united, prosperous, 
and increasing. It contains 120 families and 238 members in 
communion. 

3. Middlebush. — This church was organized out. of families 
belonging to the church of New-Brunswick, March 17th, 1834, by 
a committee consisting of Rev. Messrs. J. J. Schultz, IT. L. Rice, 
and A. D. Wilson. It had been an outpost — a place of catechiza- 
tion ; a church had been talked of and desired for some years. 
At length, under the advice of Dr. Janeway, the step was taken. 
The church edifice was finished in 1834, and Rev. Jacob J. Schultz 
called from Whitehouse and Lebanon to take charge of the new 
congregation. He continued the pastor from 1834 to 1838, when 
he resigned, in consequence of mental infirmities, and died in 1852. 
We have characterized him in another connection. His remains 
were interred in the cemetery connected with the church, and on 
his tomb is inscribed, " Rev. Jacob J. Schultz, bora September 3d, 
1792, at Rhinebeck, 1ST. Y. ; died October 22d, 1852, at Mid- 
dlebush, N. J. The last pastor of the united churches of 
Lebanon and White House for twenty years ; the first pastor of 
Middlebush Church; graduate of Union College, New- York, 1813, 
and of the R. D. Seminary, New-Jersey, 1816. 

u The last quarter of his life was clouded by mental and phy- 
sical maladies ; but God's grace was magnified, and at the age of 
60 he slept in Jesus. 

" He was a noble Christian man — a faithful and affectionate 
minister of Christ. His piety was reverent, exalted, and full of 
good fruits, fed by the doctrines of grace which he preached with 
power to the consciences of men. 

" He walked with God, did nothing without prayer, whose faith 
follow.— Heb. 13 : 7-8 ; Rev. 14 : 13." 

Mr. Schultz was succeeded in 1838 by John A. Vandoren, a 
graduate of the Seminary at New- Brunswick, who continued his 
work until 1866, when he accepted a call to the church of Lodi, 
N. Y. He was succeeded by George W. Swayne. The church 
is now under the care of Rev. Stephen L. Mershon, and num- 
bers 108 families and 192 in communion. 



306 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



4. The Church of Clover Hill. — Clover Hill church was 
organized on the 4th of September, 1834, on which occasion 
the Rev. S. A. Bumsteacl, of Manayunk, Pa., preached, and 
ordained a consistory consisting of Henry Vanderveer and 
Peter C. Schenk, as elders, and John W. Bellis and Jacob 
Nevins, deacons. A church edifice had been already built, and 
was dedicated October 5th, 1834 — only a month from the date 
when the church had been formed. The sermon on the occa- 
sion was preached by the Rev. Dr. Cannon, of the seminary at 
New-Brunswick. Early in the next year, (1835,) Garret C. Schenck, 
a student from the seminary, was called, and continued to labor 
until 1837. The next year, William Demarest was called and or- 
dained, and served the people until 1840. The church then went 
over to the Presbyterian connection, and remained in that body 
until 1862, when it returned again to its former relation with the 
Classis of Philadelphia, and called the candidate William B. 
Voorhees. The present pastor is the Rev. B. Oliver. The church 
has recently enlarged and refitted its church edifice, and is now 
in a growing state and promises to become a strong church. It 
embraces 75 families and 115 members in communion. 

5. Second Church of^ Raritan. — The Second Church of 
Raritan was formed out of families who had been in commu- 
nion with the old church, on the 5th of March, 1834. The meet- 
ing was held in the house of worship belonging to the First 
Church. Rev. J. C. Sears, of Six-Mile Run, by appointment of 
Classis, preached the sermon, and was assisted in the exercises by 
the Rev. A. D. Wilson and Rev. J. L. Zabriskie. The first con- 
sistory consisted of James Taylor, Brogun J. Brokaw, and Thomas 
Talmage, as elders, and John A. Staats, Peter Hoge, Thomas A. 
Hartwell, and James Bergen, deacons. There were 24 members 
in communion when the church was organized. 

Immediately after the organization, the people took measures 
for the erection of a house of worship. It was completed and 
dedicated to the honor and glory of the Triune God — Father, 
Son, and Holy Ghost — on Wednesday, the ISth of February, 
1835, by Rev. S. B. How, D.D., of New-Brunswick, after preach- 
ing from Ps. 26 : 8, "Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy 
house, and the place where thine honor dwelleth." 

At the end of the first year, the consistory reported 76 families 
and 61 members in communion as belonging to their church. 



HISTOKICAL NOTES. 



307 



Rev. Charles Whitehead, of Hopewell, N. Y., was called as the 
first pastor, and preached his first sermon on Sabbath morning, 
May 31st, 1835, from Romans 15 : 30-32. He continued his ser- 
vices for three years, and was succeeded, in 1840, by Talbot W. 
Chambers, a student from the seminary at New-Brunswick. He 
preached his first sermon October 13th, 1839, and was ordained 
and installed on Wednesday, January 22d, 1840, and served the 
church until 1849, when he accepted a call from the collegiate 
churches in the city of New- York and resigned. His successor, in 
1850, was Elijah R. Craven, a licentiate of the seminary at 
Princeton, who continued his labors for four years, and was suc- 
ceeded, in 1855, by Rev. J. F. Mesick, the present pastor. The 
church is now in a flourishing condition, embracing 175 families 
and 398 communicants. It has given the following young men 
from its communion to the Christian ministry, namely, John Y. 
N. Talmage, Goyn Talmage, T. De Witt Talmage, James B. Wil- 
son, Peter Q. Wilson, Frederick F. Wilson, and A. J. Hageman. 

6. Stanton, foemekly Mount Pleasant, (1834.) — This 
church was formed out of families who had been accustomed 
to attend public worship at Readington ; but the distance made 
it inconvenient and burdensome, and led them to make an 
effort to provide a more convenient place for themselves. The 
organization was effected through the Chassis of Philadelphia, 
October 15th, 1833, and it was called "the Dutch Reformed 
Church of Mount Pleasant." It consisted, originally, of only 
four members, namely, John M. Wyckoff, Josiah Cole and wife, 
Margaret, and Abraham Anderson. The first consistory were, 
John M. WyckofT and Josiah Cole, elders, and Abraham Ander- 
son, deacon. 

In the next year, they proceeded to provide themselves with a 
suitable place for public worship, and erected the present edifice. 
At the laying of the corner-stone of this house, in 1834, Rev. G. 
Ludlow, John Yan Liew, and Jacob Kirkpatrick were present 
and officiated. The church was completed before the close of the 
year and dedicated, the same reverend gentlemen — all neighbor- 
ing ministers — being present again and taking part in the ser- 
vices ; but the dates are not attainable now, no records being 
known to have been made. 

In June, ]835, the congregation presented a call to the candi- 
date Jacob R. Yan Arsdale. The call was accepted, and he was 



308 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



ordained and installed in October. He proved an acceptable 
pastor, and labored faithfully until April, 1850, when he accepted 
a call from Tyre, N. Y., and removed thither. He was suc- 
ceeded, in 1852, by Rev. Horace Doolittle, of Pompton, who 
labored until 1872. His successor was Rev. Edward Cornel, the 
present pastor. This church from small beginnings has grown 
to fair and prosperous proportions, and reported, last year, 70 
families and 140 communicants. 

7. Second Church of New-Brunswick. — This church was 
formed out of families, most of whom had belonged to the Old 
First Church, February 14th, 1843, by a committee of the Classis 
of New-Brunswick, consisting of Rev. A. Messier, D.D., and 
Messrs. Chambers and Schenck. 

The first consistory were, George Nevius and John H. StoothofF, 
elders, and Isaiah Rolfe and William T. Rank, deacons. The 
services were, for a time, held in a church edifice on the north- 
west corner of Albany and Union streets, immediately above the 
present church. In 1858, the erection of the present commodious 
house was commenced on the 28th of September, on a Tuesday 
afternoon ; Dr. How, Professor Woodbridge, and D. D. Demarest 
assisting, and Dr. Wilson, the pastor of the church, performing 
the ceremony of laying the corner-stone. This house was com- 
pleted and dedicated on Wednesday, April 10th, 1861, at 7-g- 
p.m. In this service, Drs. Campbell, Woodbridge, and Demarest 
assisted Dr. Wilson, the pastor. 

The succession of its ministers has been, D. D. Demarest, from 
1843 to 1852 ; Woodbridge, 1852 to 1857 ; H. M. Wilson, 1858 to 
1862 ; J. W. Schenck, 1863 to 1866, and C. D. Hartranft, since 
1867. It is now a strong and flourishing church, numbering 160 
families and 319 members in communion. 

8. The Church of Griggstown. — This church was organized 
out of families worshiping previously at Six-Mile Run andHarlin- 
gen. The movement grew out of a desire on the part of the 
people to enjoy the sacred ordinances nearer their homes. They 
presented a petition for an organization to the Classis of New- 
Brunswick, May 24th, 1842, which was favorably received; and 
it was resolved unanimously that " Whereas, application has been 
made by a number of individuals for the organization of a church 
at Griggstown, therefore resolved, that a Reformed Protestant 
Dutch church be organized at the place contemplated in this 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



309 



application, on the third Tuesday in June next, at 11 o'clock a.m., 
provided that at that time thirty members from neighboring 
congregations shall present their certificates of dismission for that 
purpose. 

" Resolved, that Rev. Abraham Messier, John A. Van Doren, 
and George Schenck be a committee to carry the above resolu- 
tion into effect ; and that Rev. A. Messier preach the ser- 
mon on that occasion." The committee met in the Red School 
House on the west side of Millstone River, opposite the village of 
Griggstown, at the time specified; and, after receiving the certifi- 
cates of thirty-eight members in full communion from the neigh- 
boring churches, proceeded to organize a church to be known as 
the First Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Griggstown. 
The sermon was preached by Rev. A. Messier, of Somerville. 
The names of the elders and deacons chosen were published to the 
people for their approbation, and after the sermon they were or- 
dained by Rev. George Schenck. The names of the first consis- 
tory were Abraham Perlee, Joseph Cornell, John S. Hoagland, 
and Rynier P. Staats, elders, and Rynier A. Staats, Garret Wyck- 
off, Peter Cornell, and Martin 1ST. Gulick, deacons. Immediately 
the consistory commenced the erection of a church edifice. It 
was completed and dedicated on August 8th, 1843. The sermon 
was preached by Rev. Jeremiah S. Lord, who had been called as 
pastor of the church, and on the afternoon of the same day he 
was ordained and installed in his office. He continued to serve 
the church until 1837. The next year the candidate John A. Todd 
was called and ordained. He continued to preach until 1855, 
when he was called to Tarry town. The same year G. P. Living- 
ston accepted a call from the church, and remained with them 
until 1858. In 1859, Rev. Stephen Searle was called, and continues 
the beloved pastor of a united people. The congregation num- 
bers at present 56 families and 107 members in communion. 

9. Boundbrook. — This church was formed principally from 
families who had been in communion with the Presbyterian 
Church, with a few from Millstone and Somerville. It was or- 
ganized on the 20th of August, 1846, in the Franklin School 
House. The first consistory were John Lane, Cornelius Messier, 
Jacob H. Wyckoff, and Caleb C Brokaw, elders, and Andrew 
Todd, Daniel II. Voorhees, Elias B. Van Arsdale, and Henry C 
Brokaw, deacons. It began under excellent auspices, and with 



310 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



sufficient numbers to become at once an efficient and self-sustain- 
ing church. 

Provision had already been made to build a suitable house for 
public worship, and it was completed at an early day, and dedi- 
cated to the worship of God on the 10th May, 1848. The services 
were commenced by Rev. Dr. Messier offering prayer. Then the 
Rev. Dr. R. K. Rodgers, of the Presbyterian Church, read the 
84th Psalm. After singing a hymn, the Rev. D. D. Demarest led 
in prayer, and the pastor, Rev. George J. Yan Xeste, gave an ad- 
dress. Rev. George H. Fisher, of New- York, preached the sermon 
from Heb. 11 : 10, and dedicated the church, and Dr. Rodgers 
made the concluding prayer. 

The pastors have been : George J. Yan Xeste, from 1847 to 1854 ; 
William Demarest, from 1854 to 1857 ; Henry Y. Yoorhees, from 
1858 to 1862 ; Benjamin F. Romaine, from 1862 to 1868. In 1869 
Rev. J. C. Dutcher was called, and still continues his acceptable 
labors among this people. The church has become a united and 
efficient organization, and its future seems to be assured as one of 
comfort and usefulness. It numbers 85 families, witli 149 com- 
municants. 

10. The Third Church of Rakitax. — The organization of 
this church grew out of the increase of population in the village 
of Raritan. A chapel was built at first, principally through the 
exertions of Frederick J. Frelinghuysen, and services maintained 
in it by the ministers of the first and second churches. But in the 
spring of 1848 an application was made to Chassis for a special 
organization, and being granted, a committee was appointed to 
effect this object. The committee consisted of Rev. Dr. A. Mess- 
ier, T. AY. Chambers, and D. D. Demarest. They met on the 16th 
of May, 1848, and, after a sermon by Dr. Messier, organized a 
church by ordaining a consistory composed of John A. Staats, 
Thomas S. Whitenack, Peter Y. Staats, and David T. Runyon as 
elders, and John Freck, Garret J. Quick, Isaac Y. Porter, and 
Richard Provost as deacons. 

Having called Peter Stryker, a student from the Seminary, as 
pastor, he was ordained and installed on the 10th of October, 
1848. He preached at first in the chapel; but on the 18th of 
September, 1850, the people had completed their arrangements to 
build a suitable church edifice, and the corner-stone was laid by 
the pastor, with appropriate ceremonies. The house was dedicated 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



311 



by Rev. Dr. Hutton, of New- York, July 30th, 1851, after a ser- 
mon from Ecclesinstes 5 : 1-2. 

In 1851, Mr. Stryker resigned his call, having accepted an invi- 
tation to become pastor of the church at Rhinebeck, 1ST. Y. 
He was succeeded the same year by Rev. James A. H. Cornell, 
who was installed March 4th, 1852, and served the church for 
four years, when he accepted the position of secretary to the 
Board, of Education, and removed to his own residence at New- 
Baltimore, N. Y. 

In 1857, James Le Fever, a student from the Seminary at New- 
Brunswick, was called, and ordained and installed on the 25th of 
June. He is still laboring in this field, and has had the pleasure 
of seeing a strong and active church growing up as the result of 
his exertions and the increase of population in the village. It 
numbers at present 125 families and 270 members in communion, 
and has before it a future of rich promise. 

11. Peapack. — The church at Peapack was organized by a 
committee, appointed by the Chassis of New-Brunswick, at the 
request of the Rev. George Schenk, of Bedminster, and the people 
in the village of Peapack, in the lecture room, built some years 
previously, on Tuesday, October 31st, 1848. There were received 
thirty-one in communion with the church of Bedminster; four 
from the Presbyterian church of Leamington ; and one from the 
Congregational church at Chester into this organization, making 
a total of thirty-six members. The first consistory chosen were, 
Jacob Tiger, Peter De Mott, Abraham Cortelyou, and Nicholas 
Tiger, elders, and Henry H. Wyckoff, James S. Todd, John S. Te- 
linly, and Jacob A. Clauson, deacons. After a sermon by Rev. A. 
Messier, D.D., from Prov. 8 : 34, the consistory was ordained by 
Rev. George Schenck, and the services were closed by prayer and 
the benediction by Rev. Mr. Stoutenburgh, of Chester. 

The corner-stone of the church edifice was laid on Tuesday, July 
10th, 1849, amid a large concourse of people, and addresses were 
made by Rev. Dr. Messier, Rev. J. K. Campbell, and Rev. George 
Schenck. The Rev. J. F. Morris, Rev. Messrs. Williamson, Stout- 
enbergh, Johnson, and Oackley, were present, with the pastor of 
the church, Rev. William Anderson. 

On Tuesday, January 15th, 1850, the church was dedicated. 
The pulpit was occupied by Rev. Messrs. J. K. Campbell, George 
Schenck, D. D. Demarest, and J. M. Knox. The pastor presided, 



312 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



Rev. K. Campbell offered the prayer, D. D. Demarest preached 
the sermon from 2 Cor. 6 : 41, G. Schenck offered the dedi- 
catory prayer, and Rev. J. M. Knox the concluding prayer. This 
church has still its second pastor. Rev. Wm. Anderson served it 
from its organization until 1856, and was succeeded in 1857 by 
Rev. Henry P. Thompson, the present incumbent. 

The church has recently been enlarged and beautified, and was 
reopened November 21st, 1872. The whole aspect of its affairs 
is progressive, prosperous, and satisfactory. The expenses of 
enlargement have amounted to $4500, and the people are enjoy- 
ing the comfort and pleasure of their activity and enterprise. It 
numbers 110 families and 218 communicants. 

12. Braxchville. — This church was formed out of families 
from the churches of Readington and Neshanic, with a few from 
the churches in Somerville. It grew out of the necessity of 
public worship in this growing village, and was organized May 
2d, 1850, by a committee from the Classis of Raritan, consisting 
of Dr. Messier, Rev. J. R. Campbell, Rev. Goyn Talmage, and G. 
J. Van Neste. The sermon was preached by Talmage from Ex. 
83 : 15, and the consistory was ordained by Campbell. The first 
consistory were, John Van Dyke, Cornelius Bergen, Garret Beek- 
man, and Henry P. Stryker, elders, and Lucas H. Hoagland, 
Gilbert S. Amerman, John Vossler, and John Veghte, deacons. 

Preparations to erect a suitable house of worship were imme- 
diately begun, and the corner-stone was laid amid a large con- 
course of people. Addresses were delivered by Rev. Messrs. 
Chambers, Campbell, Talmage, and Messier. It is recollected as 
an animated scene on a beautiful summer day. 

The church was dedicated in 1850, after a sermon by Rev. Dr. 
Messier ; and on the next day the candidate, Henry Dater, was 
ordained and installed as pastor of the new church, on which 
occasion Rev. J. R. Campbell j:>reached the sermon. He continued 
his labours until 1853, and was succeeded the same year by Rev. 
William Pitcher, the present incumbent. This church lias had a 
prosperous career from the beginning, and now numbers 101 
families and 95 members in communion. 

13. Eastox. — The church at Easton, Pa., was organized in Rev. 
Dr. John Vanderveer's school-room, on Saturday, July 26th, 1851, 
by a committee of the Classis of New-Brunswick, consisting of 
Rev. A. Messier, D.D., George Schenck, and H. D. Ganse. The 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



313 



first consistory were, Messrs. Frail Green, M.D., E. Dean Dow, 
James Pollock, and Samuel C. Brown, elders, and William G. 
Stewart, C. F. Thurston, Richard S. Bell, and Benjamin Gods- 
chalk, deacons. 

The first church services were held on the succeeding Sabbath, 
July 27th, in Christ Church, Lutheran, when Rev. Dr. Messier 
preached from Ephesians 2 : 20, and the Rev. George Schenck 
ordained the consistory. The building of a church for the new 
congregation was already commenced, and soon a call was pre 
sented to Rev. James Mason Knox, of the Presbyterian church, 
German Valley, New-Jersey, which was accepted. He was in- 
stalled as pastor November 23d, 1851 ; Rev. Messrs. Schenck, 
Ganse, and De Witt were present ; Ganse preaching the sermon 
from John 3 : 14-15. 

The church, which was on Fifth, then Juliana, street, was com- 
pleted and dedicated July 29th, 1852, by Rev. Dr. George W. 
Bethune. This edifice was occupied until December, 1870, when . 
it was sold to Zion Lutheran congregation, and the last service 
was held in it December 25th, 1870. 

A new church edifice was immediately commenced on Spring 
Garden Street, and the corner-stone was laid June 26th, 1871. 
In the mean time, the congregation worshiped in the First Pres- 
byterian Church. This house was dedicated on the 17th March, 
1872, by the pastor, Rev. Dr. C. H. Edgar. The sermon was 
preached fromZech. 6 : 12. 

The church has still the services of its second pastor. Rev. J. 
H. M. Knox remained with them until 1853, when he resigned, 
and accepted a call from the Presbyterian church of German- 
town, where he is still laboring. Rev. Dr. C. H. Edgar was 
called the same year from the Presbyterian church of Bridge- 
hampton, Long Island, and installed November 11th, 1853. The 
Rev. J. R. Campbell, of North-Branch, preached the sermon from 
2 Tim. 4 : 2, and charged the people, and Rev. E. R. Craven, of 
the Second church, Somerville, charged the pastor. Under 
Edgar's able and efficient labors the church has prospered and 
increased. It bids fair to be soon a strong and active church 
It numbers 55 families and 94 communicants. 

14. East-Millstoxe. — The church of East-Millstone grew out 
of the increase of the village on the east side of the river, and 
Avas demanded by the circumstances. The Rev. David Cole, to 



314 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



whom we owe almost all the subsequent history of this church, 
says, " The quick growth of the village soon suggested to its 
Christian people the importance of taking steps to secure distinct 
religious privileges for themselves." Three men were most ac- 
tive in securing an organization, Ernestus Schenck, Dr. Garret 
Van Doren,and John V. A. Merril. In due time the subject was 
brought to the notice of the Classis of New-Brunswick, and on 
the 19th June, 1855, a committee was appointed to consult with 
the consistory of the old church on the west side of the river. 
They reported in favor of immediate action. On the 19th July, 
classis appointed Dr. Mesick, Dr. J. A. II. Cornell, William 
Pitcher, and the elder Jeremiah Whitenack a committee to 
organize the church. It consisted of eighteen members. The 
first consistory were, Cornelius Broach and John V. A. Merril, 
elders, and Richard A. Kuhl and John Stines, deacons. The 
sermon on the occasion was preached by Dr. Mesick, from Acts 
9 : 31. 

In their report, October 16th, 1855, the committee say, This 
enterprise has started under flattering auspices. $2000 are 
subscribed toward building a house of worship, and the 
sum will be increased to $3000. The building committee have 
already advertised for sealed proposals to build the house 
according to a specified plan. Messrs. Ernestus Schenck, J. V. 
A. Merril, and Peter Wortman w r ere appointed a building com- 
mittee. Dr. John Ludlow addressed the people on the laying of 
the corner-stone, and Dr. J, M. Matthews, of New-York, preached 
the sermon at the dedication of the church. The entire cost of 
the lot, building, and bell, was $5748.23. 

The first pastor, Rev. Giles Vander Wall, was called June 17th, 
1856, and his installation took place July 9th ; and the connec- 
tion was dissolved June 8th, 1858. Mr. Vander Wall went to the 
Holland colony in Michigan, and subsequently as missionary to 
South-Africa. He was a native of Holland, but educated at 
Ne w-Bruns wick. 

The church remained vacant until November 23d, 1858, w T hen 
David Cole was called, and installed. He remained until April 
1st, 1863, when he accepted an appointment as Professor of the 
Latin and Greek languages in Rutgers College. He is now pas- 
tor of the church at Yonkers, New- York. 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



315 



He was succeeded the same year by Martin L. Berger, who 
served this church three years; nnd lie again was succeeded by 
William H. Phraner in 1866. The present pastor is Rev. A. 
Mc William, who has served the church since 1869. It includes 
85 families and 153 members in communion, and is becoming 
one of the most active and efficient of our young churches. 

15. Rocky Hill. — The church here grew out of the necessity 
of increased religious privileges to the inhabitants of this growing 
village. It was organized by the Classis of Philadelphia May 6th, 
1857. The church edifice had been previously commenced, and 
was dedicated to the worship of the Triune God, after a sermon 
preached by Rev. B. C. Taylor, D.D., of Bergen, N. J., June 
10th, 1857. In this service Rev. John Gardner, Rev. J. C. Lord, 
Rev. Dr. Sears, and Rev. Dr. Peter Labagh, the aged and reve- 
rend pastor of Harlingen, participated. 

The first consistory consisted of Mindert Yreeland, Samuel 
Brearly, Isaac Van Dyke, and Joseph H. Voorhees, elders, and 
John A. Saums. Michael Yreeland, Dr. C. K.Vandoren, and Jacob 
Vreelan, deacons. 

Almost immediately the Rev. Martin S. Schenck was called, 
and settled as the first pastor. He continued his labors until 
1865, and was succeeded the same year by Oscar Gesner, a licen- 
tiate from the Theological Seminary, who labored until 1871, and 
the church is now under the pastoral supervision of Rev. Herman 
C. Berg. The congregation embraces 77 families, and has before 
it a prosperous and happy future. 

16. Potters ville. — The church at Pottersville originated from 
a desire to obtain the means of grace in a locality which had been 
deprived of them. The inhabitants of that beautiful rural little 
village had no church within a convenient distance. Mr. Sering 
Potter, the proprietor of the mills to which the village owed its 
existence, felt the deprivation to which all were subjected, and 
with his sons and others moved in the matter of providing a 
church. 

The first meeting was held in the district school-house on the 
9th of October, 1865. The object was to prepare a memorial ad- 
dressed to the Classis of Raritan, praying for the organization of 
a church under their care. At this meeting, Rev. Henry P. 
Thompson, of Peapack, was present as adviser. This memorial, 
dated October 10th, 1865, was presented to Classis at their stated 



316 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



autumnal session in the Third Church of Raritan, on the day of its 
date. The petition was granted, and a committee consisting of 
Rev. P. M. Doolittle, Rev. Dr. A. Messier, Rev. William Brush, 
Rev. II. P. Thompson, and the elders Isaac Crater and Zechariah 
L. Smith, was appointed to perfect the organization. The com- 
mittee met in the school-house at Pottersville on the 2d 
November, 1865. A sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. Messier 
from Proverbs 8 : 34. Certificates of church membership were 
presented from twenty-seven individuals, embracing nine from the 
Presbyterian Church, seven from the Reformed Church, six from 
the Methodist Church, three from the Congregational Church, and 
two from the Lutheran Church. A consistory was chosen, their 
names published to the people for their approval, and, no objec- 
tions being made, they were installed. The consistory was com- 
posed of three elders and three deacons, namely, Sering Potter, 
Thomas Fritts, and Martin Rhinehart, elders, and Joseph Emmons, 
Alexander McDougal, and Edmund P. Potter, deacons. Supplies 
were appointed for the new church by the Classis, and religious 
services were thenceforth regularly held in the school-house. 

During the winter, arrangements were perfected to build a 
church edifice, the corner-stone of which was laid May 22d, 1868, 
after a sermon by Rev. P. M. Doolittle from Ephesians 2 : 20, by 
Rev. II. P. Thompson, who addressed the people. The exercises 
were closed with prayer by Rev. J. B. Heward, of the Methodist 
Church. 

The house was finished and dedicated December 26th, 1866. 
The sermon was preached by Rev. H. P. Thompson ; the Rev. Dr. 
Blauvelt and Messrs. Stoutenbergh, Voorhees, and Heward partici- 
pating in the services. The cost of the building was $8552.58. 

The call of the first pastor, Thomas W. Jones, a licentiate from 
the Seminary at New-Brunswick, bears date May 31st, 1867. He 
resigned and removed to Amsterdam, New- York, in 1870. 

The call of the second pastor, Vernon B. Carroll, is dated May 
25th, 1871. He was also a licentiate from the Seminary at New- 
Brunswick, and is still laboring earnestly among his people. The 
church has the best prospects, and will soon have abundance of 
strength in numbers and in wealth. It includes 60 families and 
78 members in communion at the present time — a marked growth 
in the seven years of its existence. 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



17. High Bridge. — This church was formed out of a promis- 
cuous population, gathered in the village which had grown up 
along the New-Jersey Central Railroad at this point, and included 
Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, and Reformed. It was or- 
ganized February 13th, 1866, by a committee of the Classis of 
Raritan, consisting of Rev. Messrs. Doolittle, Thompson, Van 
Amburgh, and Lefever. These services were held in a lecture- 
room which had been purchased from the Methodists, and Rev. J 
Lefever preached the sermon. The first consistory consisted of 
Charles Conover and Isaac Hammer, elders, and John Q. Seals and 
Johnson IT. Bennet, deacons. They were ordained by Rev. R. 
Van Amburgh after the sermon had been preached. The Rev. 
Cornelius Wyckoff was called as the first pastor, and served the 
church until 1868, when he retired on account of failing health, 
and died in New-Brunswick. The Rev. Robert Van Amburgh 
supplied the church for nearly two years. Under Lis encou- 
raging labors the lecture-room was sold, and the present beautiful 
church erected and dedicated November loth, 1870. Dr. Rogers, 
of New-York, preached the sermon, and Dr. Messier, of Somer- 
ville, dedicated the house. Dr. Rogers also officiated at the lay- 
ing of the corner-stone. The congregation is now in the charge 
of Rev. Jacob Fehrman, and is growing in numbers and in 
strength. It reports 82 families and 60 communicants. Its posi- 
tion and surroundings are such as to insure its extension and 
increase to a prosperous church in a few years. 

18. Clixtox Station. — This congregation was formed out of 
Lebanon, and organized by a committee of the Classis of Raritan, 
consisting of Revs. R. Van Amburgh, J. Lefever, and P. M. 
Doolittle, January 1st, 1866. The first consistory was, Archibald 
Huffman and John H. Cregen, elders, and George M. Freeh and 
George H. Rowland, deacons. The people worshiped for a time 
in a public hall in the village, but in 1868 began to build. The 
house was finished and dedicated, classis being in session, by the 
pastor, J. A. Vandoren. Mr. Vandoren acted first as stated sup- 
ply from October 1st, 1866, to October 7th, 1869, when he ac- 
cepted the call, and continues to labor, being useful and beloved. 
The church numbers 44 families and 47 members in communion. 
The village is now. called Annan dale. 

Besides these churches, a church was organized out of German 
families in Warren Township, in 1856, and after having sustained 



318 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



for many years, it revolted, and is now under the Congregation- 
alists. 

Another German church was organized in Plainfield, and the 
Central Church of Plainfield has placed itself also in connection 
with Congregationalism. A German church was also formed in 
New-Brunswick in 1851, and is prospering. 

One remark must close our notice of these young churches, 
and that is, they are following on in the footsteps of the elder, 
and each one has prospered according to the measure of their 
steadfastness, and the energy manifested in their proper work. 
Our detail more than justifies the complimentary epithet applied 
to the churches in Somerset County : they are indeed the 
"garden of the Dutch Church." 



CHARTER OF THE FIVE CHURCHES : NEW-BRUNS- 
WICK, RARIT AN, SIX-MILE RUN, MILLSTONE, AND 
NORTH-BRANCH. 

Granted June Vtii, 1753. 

George the Second, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, 
France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, etc. To all whom 
these presents shall come, greeting : Whereas, divers and sun- 
dries of our loving subjects inhabiting within the several Coun- 
ties of Somerset, Hunterdon, and Middlesex, in our Province of 
New- Jersey, in behalf of themselves and others, being of the 
Dutch Protestant Reformed Church, by their humble petition 
presented to our trusty and well-beloved Jonathan Belcher, Esq., 
Captain General in Chief in and over our Province of New- 
Jersey and territories thereon depending in America, Chancellor 
and Vice-Admiral in the same, etc., setting forth that the peti- 
tioners are very numerous and daily increasing, and consist of 
five churches and congregations, to wit, the church and congre- 
gation of Raritan, the church and congregation of North- 
Branch, the church and congregation of New-Brunswick, the 
church and congregation of Six-Mile Run, the church and con- 
gregation of Millstone ; that the most advantageous support of 
religion among them requires that some persons among them 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



319 



should be incorporated as trustees for the community, that they 
may take grants of lands and chattels, thereby to enable the 
petitioners to erect and repair public buildings, for the worship 
of God, school-houses and alms-houses, and for the maintenance 
of the ministry and poor, and that the same trustees may plead 
and may be impleaded in any suit touching the premises, and 
have perpetual succession ; and we having nothing more at heart 
than to see the Protestant religion in a flourishing condition 
throughout all our dominions, and being graciously pleased to 
give all due encouragements to such of our loving subjects who 
are zealously attached to our person, government, and the Pro- 
testant succession in our royal house, and to grant the request of 
petitioners in this behalf: know ye, that we of our special grace, 
certain knowledge, and mere motion, have willed, ordained, con- 
stituted, and granted, and by these presents for us, our heirs and 
successors, do will, ordain, constitute, and appoint, that the Rev. 
John Light, John Frelinghuysen, Ministers, John Van Middle- 
mirth, Peter Williams, Peter Van Ess, Andrew Ten Eyck, Daniel 
Cybyrn, Peter Mountforcl, Henrick Fisher, Cornelius Bennet, 
William Williams, Luke Vorhees, David Nevius, Simon Van 
Arsdalen, John Strieker, Reynior Vechten, elders, and Frans 
Cusart, Andrew Monton, John Brocaw, Harman Lean, Cornelius 
Whykotf, Peter Schamp, Hendrick Van Deursen, John Messelaer, 
Abraham Hize, Christopher Hoglan, Rem Garretson, Cornelius 
Van Arsdalen, Andrew Hagaman, Abraham Hagaman, and 
James Van Arsdalen, deacons, of the Dutch Reformed con- 
gregations above-named, and the counties aforesaid, and their 
successors hereafter, the minister or ministers, elders and dea- 
cons of the respective churches or congregations, which at or 
any time hereafter, be duly chosen or appointed, shall be and 
remain one body politick and corporate in deed and fact, by the 
name of the trustees of the Dutch Reformed Church of Raritan, 
North-Branch, New-B runs wick, Six-Mile Run, and Millstone, in 
the counties aforesaid, and that all and every one, the ministers, 
elders, and deacons, before herein expressed, shall be the first 
trustees of the said churches and congregations now by these 
presents constitute and made one body politick by the name of 
the trustees of the Protestant Dutch Reformed Church, and 
shall so remain until others are duly called, chosen, and put into 



320 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



their respective place or places, and that they, the said body 
politick and corporate, shall have perpetual succession in deed, 
fact, and name, to be known and distinguished by the name of 
the Trustees of the Dutch Reformed Church ; and all deeds, 
grants, bargains, sales, leases, evidences, or otherwise whatsoever, 
which may anywise relate or concern the corporation, and also 
that they and their successors, by the name of the Trustees of 
the Dutch Reformed Church of Raritan, North-Branch, New- 
Brunswick, Six-Mile Run, and Millstone, in the counties afore- 
said, be and forever hereafter shall be, persons able in law to 
purchase, take, hold, or enjoy, any messuages, houses, buildings, 
lands, tenement, rents, or whatsoever in fee and forever, or for 
time of life, or lives, or in any other manner, so as the same 
exceed not at any time in the yearly value of seven hundred 
pounds sterling, per annum, beyond and above all charges, and 
reprizes, the statute of mortmain, or any other law to the con- 
trary notwithstanding, and also goods, chattels, and all other 
things to what kind soever, and also that they and their succes- 
sors, by the name of the Trustees of the Reformed Dutch Church, 
shall and may give, grant, demise, or otherwise dispose of all or 
any of the messuages, houses, buildings, lands, tenements, rents, 
and all other things as to them shall seem meet, at their own will 
and pleasure ; and also that they and their successors, be and for- 
ever hereafter shall be persons able in law to sue and be sued, plea 
and be impleaded, answer and be answered unto, defend and be 
defended in all courts and places, before us, our heirs and suc- 
cessors, and before us, or any of the judges, officers, or minis- 
ters of us, our heirs and successors, in all and all manners of 
actions, suits, complaints, pleas, causes, matters, and demands what- 
soever; and also that the same trustees of the Dutch Reformed 
Churches above named for the time being, and their successors, 
shall and may forever hereafter have and use a common seal, 
with such device or devices as they shall think proper, for sealing 
all and singular deeds, grants, conveyances, contracts, bonds, 
articles of agreements, and all and singular their affairs touching 
or concerning the said Corporation. And we do now further 
ordain, will, or grant, that all and every such lands, tenements, 
and hereditaments corporeal or incorporeal, money, goods, and 
chattels, which at any time before or after the date of these our 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



321 



letters patent have been, or shall be, devised, given, or granted 
to all or any of the particular churches above named, within 
the said several counties of Hunterdon, Somerset, and Middle- 
sex, or to any person or persons, in trust for them, shall be and 
remain in the peaceable and quiet possession of the Corporation, 
according to the true intent or meaning of such device or 
devices, gift or gifts, grant or grants, that the trustees by these 
presents appointed, shall continue and remain the trustees of 
the Dutch Reformed Church of Raritan, North-Branch, New- 
Brunswick, Six-Mile Run, and Millstone, in the counties aforesaid, 
until others shall be chosen according to the manner, customs, 
and methods now in use among the said Protestant Dutch 
Reformed Churches, which persons so-called, elected, and chosen, 
shall have all the powers and authorities of the above-named 
trustees, and all and every such person or persons so newly 
called, elected, and chosen, as aforesaid, shall remain until other 
fit persons in like manner be called, elected, and chosen, in their 
respective rooms and places, and so, toties quoties. 

And we do further ordain, give, grant, that there be a meeting 
of the several trustees of the churches aforesaid, at the Raritan pub- 
lic place of worship, in the County of Somerset, on the first Tues- 
day of August next after the date of these our letters patent, 
and thereafter at such time or times, place or places, within the 
said counties as to them or the major part of them shall seem 
meet and convenient ; and then and there, by plurality of votes, 
choose a president out of them, for the time being, who shall 
have the custody of the seal or seals of the said Corporation, and 
all books, charters, deeds, and writings, any way relating to the 
said Corporation ; and shall have power from time to time, and all 
times hereafter, as occasion shall require, to call a meeting of the 
said trustees, at such a place within the said counties as he shall 
think convenient, for the execution of all or any of the powers 
hereby given and granted ; and in case of sickness, removal, or 
death of the president, all the powers by these presents granted 
to the president, shall remain on the senior trustee upon record, 
until the recovery of the president, or until a new president be 
chosen as aforesaid. And we do further will, ordain, give, or 
grant that every act and order of the major part of the said trustees 
consented or agreed to afe such meeting* as aforesaid shall be 



322 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



good, valid, and effectual to all intents and purposes as if the 
said number of the whole trustees had consented and agreed 
thereto. And we do further will and ordain that all the acts of 
the said trustees, or any of them, shall from time to time be fairly 
entered in a book or books, to be kept for that purpose by the 
president of the trustees, together with the seal of the said cor- 
poration ; and all charters, deeds, writings whatsoever, any way 
belonging to the said Corporation, shall be delivered over by the 
former president to the president of the said trustees newly elect- 
ed, as such president shall hereafter successively from time to 
time be chosen. And we do further of our special certain know- 
ledge and mere motion for us, our heirs and successors, by these 
presents give and grant unto the said trustees of the Dutch Re- 
formed Church, the ministers, elders, and deacons above-named, 
and their successors forever, that they and their successors, all 
and singular, the rights, privileges, powers, benefits, emoluments, 
and advantages to be hereby granted, shall and may forever here- 
after have, hold, enjoy, and use without hindrance or impediment 
of us, our heirs or successors, or of any of the justices, sheriffs, 
escheaters, coroners, bailiffs, or other officers and ministers, what- 
soever of us, our heirs or successors ; and that these our letters 
being entered upon record in our secretary's office of ]STe\v- Jersey, 
and the record and the enrollments thereof, and either of them 
and all and every thing therein contained, from time to time and 
at all times hereafter, be and shall be firm, valid, good, sufficient, 
and effectual in law towards and against us, our heirs and suc- 
cessors according to the true intent and meaning thereof, and in 
and through all things shall be construed and taken and expound- 
ed most benignly and in favor for the greatest advantage and 
profit of the trustees of the said Dutch Reformed Church of 
Raritan, North-Branch, New-Brunswick, Six-Mile Run, and Mill- 
stone in the counties aforesaid, and their successors forever, not- 
withstanding any defect, default, or imperfection may be found 
therein, or any other cause or thing whatsoever. In testimony 
whereof we have caused these our letters to be made patent, and 
the great scale of our province to be hereunto affixed, and the 
same to be entered of record in our secretary's office of said Pro- 
vince of New-Jersey in one of the books of record therein remain- 
ing. Witness our well beloved and trusty Jonathan Belcher, Esq.? 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



323 



our Captain-General, and Governor-in-Chief in and over our said 
Province of New- Jersey, Chancellor and Vice- Admiral of the 
same, by and with the advice and consent of our council of our 
said Province at Burlington, the seventh day of June, and in the 
twenty-sixth year of our reign. 

(Signed) JONATHAN BELCHER, Gov. 



INDEX. 



Anderson. W. Pastor of Peapack, 311. 

Antonides, F. Ordains a Consistory at Six- 
Mile Run irregularly, 225; also at lhree- 
Mile Run, 240 ; sketch of, 255. 

Arondens, J. Assists those disaffected to 
Frelinghuysen, 255 ,• action of the Coetus 
respecting, 256. 

Bailey, W. Settles at White House, 301. 
Bartholf, G. Ordains elders and deacons at 
Raritan, 159, 161 ; his zeal and labors, 162. 
Bedmiuster Church, 283. 
Berg, H. C. Pastor at Rocky-Hill, 315. 
Berger, M. L. Pastor at East-Millstone, 315. 
Blair, R. J. Sketch of. 289. 
Blawenburg Church, 262, 303. 
Boundhrook Church, 309. 
Branchville Church, 312. 

Campbell, J. K, 302. 

Cannon, J. S. Settled at Six-Mile Run and 
Millstone , filled the chair of Ecclesiasti- 
cal History. 230; sketches by Dr. John 
Proudfit and Dr. G. Ludlow, 231. 

Carroll. F. B. P stor of Pottersviile, 316. 

Chambers. T W ■ Settled in Second Church 
of Raritan, 307. 

Charter of the Five Churches, 318. 

Clinton Station Church, 317. 

Clover Hill Church, 306 

Coens, Henricus. Organizes the church of 
Harlingen, 253 ; an active minister, 254. 

Cole, D. Settled at East-Millstone, 314. 

Comfort, L. L. Pastor at White House, 301. 

Condit, Ira. Settles at New-Brunswick, be- 
comes Vice-President of the College, Dr. 
Cannon's sketch, 214. 

Conkling, N. Rayer, 154. 

Cornell. E. Pastor of Stanton, 308. 

, J. A. H. Pastor of Raritan Third, 311. 

Craven, E. R. Labors four years in the Se- 
cond Church of Raritan, 307. 

Dalliker, F. Ministers at Lebanon, 293. 
Dater, H. Ordained and installed at Branch- 
ville, 312. 

Demarest, C. T. Ministry at White House, 
299. 

, D. D. Pastor of New-Brunswick Se- 
cond Church, 308. 

, W. Settled at Clover Hill, 306; at 

Boundhrook, 310. 

Doolittle, H. Settled at Stanton, 308. 

, P. M., 302. 

Duryea, J. Called to Raritan, 196; third 
revival extends into his pastorate, 32; 
he resigns and preach 1 i at Bedminster, 
White House, etc., 198. 

Dutcher, J. C, 310. 



East-Millstone Church, 283, 313. 
Easton Church, 312. 

Edgar, C. H. Second pastor at Eastcn, 313. 

Fehrman, J. Pastor at High-Bridge, 317. 
Ferris, Isaac. Pastor at New-Brunswick, 

Albany, and New- York, 220. 
Fisher, G. H. Settled at North-Branch, 302. 

, I. M. Sketch of, 287. 

Foering, C. F. Called to Millstone, 276; 

skeich of. 277. 
Fonda, J. Settles at Nassau, and removes to 

New-Brunswick, sketch by Dr. Forsyth, 

217. 

Frelinghuysen, T. J. Called from Holland, 
20, 163, 208 ; experimental preaching of 
26, 169; results of his ministry, 28, 169, 
sketch of. 165 ; Whitefield and G Ten- 
nant attest his faithfulness, 168, 210 ; op- 
position to, 172; his scholarship, 174.175 ; 
the Advocate and Complaint, 175 : his in- 
timacy with Schureman, 180; latter years, 
184 ; date of death uncertain, 174. 

, Theodore. Pastor at Albany, 181 ; 

visits Holland as agent of the Coetus, 
and never returns, 182. 

, John. Settles in his father's place, 

182 ; founds a theological school and dies, 
183; revival under, 31. 

, Jacobus and Ferdinandus. Licensed 

by the Classis of Utrecht, but die on the 
voyage home, 183. 

. Henricus. Licensed by the Coetus, 

183; ordained at Marbletown and dies of 
small-pox, 184. 

Froelish, S. Preaches at Neshanic, 271 ; 
called to Millstone and call acted upon 
by Coetus, 277 ; removes to Hackensack, 
secedes, and founds the True Reformed 
Dutch Church, 278. 

Fryenmoet, D. Endeavors to settle in Rari- 
tan, 246-8. 

Gardener. J. Pastor at Harlingen, 268. 
German Churches in Warren, Plainfield, and 

New-Brunswick, 317. 
Gesner, O. Settled at Rocky-Hill, 315. 
Griggstown Church, 308. 

Hardenbergh, C. Called to Bedminster, his 
character and work, 286. 

, J. B. Called from Helderberg to New- 
Brunswick, 220. 

, J. R. Ministered in troublous times, 

31 ; marries the widow of John Freling- 
huysen and settles at Raritan, 185 ; re- 
moves to New-Brunswick. 213 ; sketch 
of his life and ministry, 185; Dr. Living- 
ston's tribute to, 191. 



32(3 



INDEX. 



Harlingen Church, 258. 

" Helpers " appointed, 27, BO, 171. 

'Herraance, H. Character and ministry, 304. 

High-Bridge Church, 317. 

How, S. B. Called from Dickinson College 
to New- Brunswick, where for twenty- 
one years he was a laborious and faithful 
pastor, 221. 

mians, J. Forms the settlement" at the 
river, 160, 205. 

Jones, T. W. Labors at Pottersville, 316. 

Janeway, J. J. Called from the Western 
Theological Seminary to New-Bruns- 
wick, 220. 

Knox, J. H. M. First pastor of Easton, 313. 

Labagh, P. Settled at Harlingen and Nesha- 
hic, and afterward at Harlingen alone, 263; 
Drs. Ludlow and Betlmne's impressions 
of him, 265. 

Lebanon Church. 290. 

Le Fever. J. Pastor of Earitan Third, 311. 

Leydecker, G. Preaches at Eeadington to the 
Conference. 249. 

Leydt, J. Called to New-Brunswick and li- 
censed and ordained by the Coetus di- 
rectly, 211 ; he and his sons Matthew and 
Peter die nearly at the same time, 213. 

Livingston, E. P. Called to Griggstown, 309. 

Lloyd, A. Settled at White House in 1855, 
removes to Pekin, 111., 1857, 301. 

Lord, J. S. Called to Griggstown, 309. 

Ludlow, G. Prayer at anniversary, 142 ; fifty 
years pastor at Neshanic, and labors ap- 
preciated, 272. 

, J. Pastor at New-Brunswick and 

twice Professor in the Seminary, 218. 

Mc William, A. Pastor at East-Millstone, 315. 
Mershon, S. L., 305. 

Mesick, J. F. Called to Second Church of 
Earitan, 307. 

Messier, A. Fortieth anniversary of settle- 
ment at Earitan, 141. 

Middlebush Church, 305. 

Millstone Church, 273. 

Ministers raised up in the Church of Earitan, 
130, 204. 

Neshanic Church, 268. 
New-Brunswick Church. Notes on, 204. 
New-Brunswick Second Church, 308. 
North-Branch Church, 302. 

Osborn. T. Labors effectively in the fifth 

revival at Raritan, 34. 
Otterson, J. Sketch of, 300. 

Pastorates in Church of Earitan. Compara- 
tive length of, 131. 
Peapack Church, 311. 

Phraner, W. H. Labors at East-Millstone, 
315. 

Pitcher Wm. Pastor of Branchville, 312." 
Polhemus, H. Preaches . at Harlingen and 
■-%■-> Neshanic, 262. 
Pottersville Church, 315. 

Quick, A. M. Address, 150. 

Earitan. Changes during forty years, 126, 133. 

Church. Notes on, 159. 

Second Church. 306. 

Third Church, 310. 



Earitan. The revivals in, 20. 

1. First, under Eev. Theodore Jac. Fre- 

linghuysen, 22. 

2. The second, under Eev. John Freling- 

huysen, 31. 

3. The third, under Eev. Theodore F. Eo- 

meyn and John Duryea, 32. 

4. The fourth and fifth, under Eev. John 

S. Vre den burgh, 33. 

5. The sixth, under the present pastor, 

34. 

Eeadington Church, 239. 
Rocky-Hill Church, 315. 
Romaine, B. F.. 310. 

Romeyn, J. Sketch of his character and min- 
istry, 235. 

— , T. B. Pastor at Blawenburg, 304. 

, T. F. Called to Raritan, ministers, 

and dies during the third revival, 32, 195. 

Schenck, G. C. First pastor of Clover Hill. 
306. 

, G. Pastor at Bedminster, 288. 

, M. S. Called to Rocky-Hill, 315. 

Schlatter, M. A German missionary in Phi- 
ladelphia visits and preaches for the Ger- 
mans in Lebanon, Amwell, and Fox Hill, 
290. 292. 

Schrltz, J. J. His character and ministry, 
295, 305. 

Schureman, J. Pastor at New-Brunswick, 
215; Dr. Livingston sketches him, 216, 
279 ; Dr. G. Ludlow's description, 279, 285, 

Searle. S. Settled at Griggstown, 309. 

Sears, J. C. Pastor at Six-Mile Eun. 

Six-Mile Run Church, 223. 

Smith, W. R. Called to Harlingen and Ne- 
shanic and preaches twenty-five years in 
English, 261 ; sketch of, 271. 

Smock^ J. H. Preaches at Eeadington, 253. 

Somerset County. Spiritual condition, 164 ;. 
first, house of worship in, 205. 

court house burned, 277. 

Stanton Church, 307. 

Statistics of membership, 130. 

Steele, B. H. Pastor at New-Brunswick, 223. 

Stryker, P. Settled in Earitan Third, 310; 
removes to Bhinebeck, 311. 

Studdiford, P. Preaches at Eeadington and 
Bedminster, 251. ^ 

Sturgis, Smith. 301. 

Swa'yne, G. W., 305. 

Talmage, G. Does a good work at'White 
House, 300. 

, J E. Second pastor at Blawenburg 

304. 

Thompson, H. P. Second pastor of Peapack 

Church, 312. 
Todd, A. F. Address, 153. 
, J. A. Address at anniversary, 144; 

settled at Griggstown, 309. 

Van Amburah, E. Twice pastor at Lebanon, 
297 ; pastor at High-Bridge, and secured 
a good edifice, 317. 

Van Arsdale, J. E. Called to Stanton and 
removes to Tyre, 308. 

Van Arsdalen. S. Called to Eeadington, 250. 

Van Bergh. Dinah Her excellent character 
and influence, 191. 

Van Doren, J. A. Pastor at Middlebush and 
removes to Lodi, 305. 

Van Harlimren, J. M. Pastor at Millstone 
and Six-Mile Eun, 227. 279 ; becomes Pro- 
fessor of Hebrew, described by Dr. Wyc- 
koff, 228. 



INDEX. 



327 



Van Harlingen. Joh. M. Pastor of Harlingen 
and Neshanic for thirty-three years, 260. 

Van Kleek, E. D. Settles at SomerviUe, re- 
moves to Basking Ridge, Canajoharie, 
Flatbush, and dies in Jersey City, 203. 

Van Liew, J. Pastor of Eeadington forty- 
tv o years, 252. 

Van Neste, G. J. Pastor at Boundbrook, 310. 

Van Slyke, J. G. Ordained and installed 
at Eeadington. 253. 

Vander Wall, G. Installed'at East-Millstone, 
314. 

Voorhees. H. V. Settled at Boundorook. 310 
Vredenburgh, J. S. Settled at Earitan. 199 ; 

reaps the fourth revival at Earitan, 33 ; 

the filth followed directly upon his death, 



Mrs. Woodward's notice, 199 ; sketch by 
Dr. J. Ferris, 200. g 

Wack, C. Pastor at Eockaway, 293. 
, C. P., 



Whitefield preaches in IN ew-Brunswick. 210. 
Whitehead, C. Called from Hopewell, N. T., 
| to Earitan Second, 307. 
White House Church. 297. 
Williamson. P. S., 299. 
Wilson. A. D., 302. 

, Wirts, J. C. Preaches at German Valley and 
Eockaway, 292. 
Wyckoff, C. First Pastor at High-Bridge,317. 

! Zabriskie. J. L. Settles at Millstone, sketch 
of his character and ministry, 128. 



